SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Experian Automotive discovered that new-vehicle leasing continued on a
steady pace during the second quarter, coming in with a level similar
to what the industry has generated outside of the worst point of the
recent recession.

Analysts determined leasing represented 24.40
percent of all new-vehicle financing during the second quarter. That
level was on par with what Experian indicated the industry produced
during the second quarters of recent years, including:

—2011: 23.62 percent
—2010: 23.79 percent
—2008: 24.40 percent

Of
course, the hiccup in that string is the second quarter of 2009 when
the recession gripped the country, and lenders back off leasing activity
significantly. Experian pointed out that the leasing level during the
second quarter of that year was 17.68 percent, part of the reason
off-lease vehicles are sometimes hard to come by in the wholesale
market.

However, Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit
for Experian Automotive, is confident that the leasing industry is
healthy.

"The primary thing that stands out to me around leasing
is the misconception that the leasing market disappeared and/or has
really struggled," Zabritski said.

"While yes, leasing units were
dramatically impacted after the recession, it bounced back as a
percentage of financing fairly quickly," she continued. "It's also been
very stable and while the market has been recovering unit-wise, leasing
is on the same recovery standpoint as it relates to volume."

Along
with compiling how the overall leasing industry is behaving, Experian
also pinpointed which individual lenders held the greatest share of the
market during the second quarter. The firm also determined how much of
the lender's new-vehicle financing was connected with a lease.

Leading
the way was American Honda Finance, holding 18.4 percent market share
as 46.03 percent of its second-quarter activity was associated with
leasing. Coming next was Honda's Japanese competitor, Toyota Financial
Services, which held 13.0 percent of the market as 32.23 percent of its
Q2 business was connected to leasing.

The remainder of the Top 10 lease providers in the second quarter according to Experian's analysis included:

—Ford Motor Credit: 10.7 percent with 32.76 percent of Q2 activity being leases.

—Ally Financial: 10.4 percent with 24.78 percent of Q2 activity being leases.

—Nissan/Infiniti Financial Services: 9.2 percent with 40.49 percent of Q2 activity being leases.

—Hyundai Capital America: 7.8 percent with 47.03 percent of Q2 activity being leases.

—VW Credit: 7.2 percent with 53.12 percent of Q2 activity being leases.

—Mercedes-Benz Financial: 5.3 percent with 88.23 percent of Q2 activity being leases.

—BMW Bank of North America: 5.2 percent with 57.47 percent of Q2 activity being leases.

—Chase Auto Finance: 3.2 percent with 13.51 percent of Q2 activity being leases.