CINCINNATI—A new study indicates that car shoppers are becoming more interested in shorter-term lease options—possibly even a 30-day—compared with the traditional 36-month lease.
An online survey by Swapalease.com, presented to more than 2,500 drivers across the country, shows that roughly 70% of those polled would like lease terms of 24 months or less as an option by their dealer.
The survey was conducted during the month of July, 2016, and was inspired in part by Uber's recent decision to lease cars to drivers in 30-day increments, Swapalease.com stated.
“As many as 74% of those polled said a 30-day lease is something they are either ‘maybe’ or ‘absolutely’ interested in. Only 9% of those polled said they would not be interested in hearing about a short-term lease option from their dealer,” the company said.
Regarding vehicle types, men and women differ on the type of vehicle they would want to lease for 12-month terms. The survey revealed that women would be more interested in leasing a compact car, hybrid or crossover during that time span, compared with men who indicated their interests to be in premium luxury or sports cars.
In terms of specific brands, women prefer Nissan, Honda and Toyota for a short-term lease, while men indicated a strong preference for Cadillac in a 30-day lease period.
"Short-term lease options are becoming more popular, and will eventually be part of what's offered at a dealership simply because of where consumer preferences now exist," said Scot Hall, executive vice president of Swapalease.com. "From short-term mobile phone plans to pay-as-you-consume Netflix programming, consumers are now conditioned to tie larger investments in with their consumption habits, which may dictate the future of automobile shopping patterns and offers."