CINCINNATI -

Swapalease.com reported continued increases this year for customer credit approval on lease transactions through the end of July.

According to website data, total year-to-date credit approvals stood at 75.6 percent through July, up from 73.9 percent through the end of June and the highest cumulative average recorded so far this year.

Analysts indicated that historical data shows that 70-percent approval is considered healthy for the online lease marketplace, which matches a person looking to exist a vehicle with a shopper looking to take over a short-term lease.

The site pointed out that customer credit approvals have continually increased since the beginning of 2011, and the current 75.6-percent approval rate compares to 61.6 percent year-to-date approvals through July of last year.

“Now that our credit approvals rate is resting near 75 percent, the majority of customers processing transactions are believed to be looking for upgrades to their previous vehicle,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president of Swapalease.com.

“The health rate of consumer credit in many cases gives drivers the confidence to upgrade into a vehicle category that’s considered higher than their previous vehicle,” Hall continued.

In looking specifically at the July approvals rate, the site discovered 80.6 percent of customers looking to take over a vehicle lease were approved by the incoming bank. This reading represents the second best month for approvals, behind the 88 percent approval rate Swapalease recorded during May.

“Credit is the lifeblood of leasing, and each interested car shopper must have their credit approved by the lease company holding the vehicle contract,” the site said.

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