Leasing Remains Strong; What Caused Gain in Used Transaction Prices?

Despite dipping a bit from April, leasing levels remained at a strong level last month and bested year-ago levels by nearly 10 percent, according to the “Industry Health Report: May 2013 Sales Performance” from J.D. Power and Associates’ Power Information Network.

Specifically, lease penetration reached 22.8 percent in May. This was down from 23.7 percent in April but up from 20.8 percent in May 2012.

The share for 72-month and longer loans in May was just under 30 percent, according to J.D. Power, up from 29.6 percent in April and 27.8 percent in May 2012.

“Both long-term loan and lease penetration were at, or close to, record levels for the month of May, with short leases offsetting concerns about purchase cycle extensions from longer loans,” analysts noted.

Among other areas explored in the report was the used-vehicle market.

J.D. Power found that May’s used-to-new ratio was 75 percent, compared to 78 percent in April and 74 percent in May 2012. Used-vehicle transaction prices averaged $19,091, up 2.4 percent from May 2012 and a 0.3-percent uptick from April.

“Strong new-vehicle markers caused the new-to-used ratio to dip versus April,” the firm explained. “Fresher used inventory helped used prices rise.”
 

Joe Overby can be reached at joverby@autoremarketing.com. Continue the conversation with Auto Remarketing on both LinkedIn and Twitter.