CHICAGO -

In addition to dissecting April’s “plentiful” new-car incentives and lease deals spurred by the need to move inventory in preparation for the arrival of new vehicles, Cars.com said in an analysis this morning that special manufacturer promotions have driven leasing levels that approach all-time highs.

“Relatively slow sales pace in the first quarter of 2014 resulted in higher-than-expected inventory levels at many dealers’ lots, which can only mean more attractive deals for consumers in April,” said Jesse Toprak, chief analyst for Cars.com

“Manufacturers will take advantage of the seasonal uptick and warmer weather, which should bring an influx of shoppers to dealerships, by heavily promoting their vehicles,” he continued. “We'll also see continued promotion of low-APR financing incentives and generous leasing offers.

“Consumers are leasing new vehicles at near-record levels due to special manufacturer promotions featuring low payments, especially in the luxury-vehicle segment.”

Breaking down the incentive trends, the Cars.com analysis points out particularly robust deals for the “crowded” midsize sedan, compact and midsize SUV categories. There is tight competition in these segments as dealers and OEMs are fighting to capture shoppers’ attention.

In what it says is partly driven by “overstocked” supply among large vehicles, Cars.com said it expects automakers to be “generous” with incentives to get this inventory turning.

More specifically, Cars.com is projecting continued deals in the compact SUV segment — which it describes as “increasingly popular — the rest of this month and into the next.