CINCINNATI -

Swapalease.com sees the sales performance of luxury brands becoming a new sweet spot for improved leasing activity in the coming future.

The website noted eight luxury nameplates that posted anywhere from 8- to 19-percent increases in sales to date as compared to the same time last year. The growth Swapalease.com highlighted includes:

—Audi: 19.1 percent.

—BMW: 8.4 percent.

—Mercedes-Benz: 18.0 percent.

—Jaguar: 11.0 percent.

—Land Rover: 17.5 percent.

—Lexus: 8.0 percent.

—Infiniti: 19.9 percent.

—Porsche: 19.0 percent.

As sales have moved higher, Swapalease.com believes leasing of these luxury brands is climbing, too.

Site officials contend lower lease payments in relation to other financing methods have pushed consumers into driving more expensive vehicles. They also maintain manufacturers have increased leasing incentives by more than $1,000 this year when compared to 2009.

Furthermore as dealers readily understand, higher residual values equate to lower lease payments, making leases more attractive. Swapalease.com thinks this is especially evident in the luxury segment where lease penetration can be much greater.  

“Luxury offerings historically are where new features and technologies are first introduced so 36 month leases permit consumers to stay on the cutting edge and remain under warranty during the life of the lease,” stated Scot Hall, executive vice president of operations at Swapalease.com.

“The upward trend we are witnessing in luxury leasing, as well as non-luxury leasing for that matter, is great news for Swapalease.com because many will be part of our inventory in the near future,” Hall added.