CINCINNATI—Car lease credit applicants registered a 70% approval rate in January, a decrease from the December rate of 72%, Swapalease.com reported.
January experienced a slightly lower number of applicants with qualifications for taking over another person’s lease contract during the month, registering at -2% fewer approvals than the month of December. However, January saw an increase in approval ratings from January 2019 and 2018 approval ratings, where 67.5% of lease applicants were approved in 2019, and only 57.8% were approved in 2018.
January has historically been slightly lower on lease applicant volume following the rush of holiday lease shopping to close out the year. Since January 2019, lease credit approval ratings rose consistently throughout the year, and experienced only slight fluctuations. September was the highest month of the year for credit approvals in 2019.
“As consumers begin to receive their tax returns, we anticipate a spike in shoppers who may have been waiting until tax season to lease their next vehicle,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president of Swapalease.com.