CINCINNATI -

If 2020 has proven anything, it’s that drastic changes can arrive that no one anticipated.

With that thought in mind, Swapalease.com wants to bring automakers and dealerships together with vehicle-lease holders who want out of their contract or to switch vehicles before the term has fully expired.

On Wednesday, the site launched new program called Mobility Leasing by Swapalease that’s designed to create a unique marketplace infrastructure dealers and OEM partners can utilize to help customers add more flexibility into their lease contracts.

For a variety of financial or life event reasons, Swapalease estimated that nearly eight out of every 10 lease drivers want to exit their lease contract before it is completed. However, site officials acknowledged buying out a lease contract to change vehicles is “a serious headache” that comes with considerable financial consequences.

“Life events like marriage, a new child, job transfer and income changes have all prompted consumers to change into a new or different vehicle,” Swapalease said.

A recent Swapalease.com industry report also found that dealers turn away roughly 38% of the customers who are interested in getting a new vehicle simply because they have more than a few months remaining on their lease contract. The new Mobility Leasing by Swapalease program is designed to immediately help dealers help these customers into a new vehicle.

Here’s how the program is geared to work.

Officials explained that when a customer walks into a Swapalease-participating dealership and leases a new vehicle, their salesperson informs them they can return the lease after satisfying an initial grace period (usually 12 months).

When the customer returns to exercise their option, the dealer immediately can begin the process of helping them out of their lease by listing the vehicle on the Swapalease.com lease transfer marketplace, where there is historically more buyers looking for gently-used leases to take over.

When a match is found, Swapalease indicated the customer is free to work out a deal on their next vehicle with the salesperson.

The site emphasized this process can eliminate the frustration and expensive penalty consumers face when they want to buy out their lease early, and it can help dealers offer immediate assistance to those customers hoping to exit their lease because a life event has changed their automotive vehicle preference.

“Auto dealers have had several years of solid sales performance, including 2020 when the pandemic was believed to be far more destructive earlier in the year,” Swapalease.com executive vice president Scot Hall said in a news release. “Despite all of this, many dealers are still missing out on millions in additional or lost revenue by having to turn away customers who want to shop for a new vehicle but feel stuck in their lease contract.

“Our new program eliminates all of this friction on both sides and enables dealers to immediately help their customers add more flexibility into their driving needs,” Hall went on to say.

Dealers interested in participating in the Mobility Leasing by Swapalease program may call (866) 792-7669, ext. 1000 for more details.

Drivers interested in exiting their lease even if their local dealer is not a participant may utilize the Swapalease.com direct-consumer marketplace located at www.Swapalease.com.