CINCINNATI—A new report shows that the impact from Hurricanes Harvey and Irma had a noticeable effect on lease shopping during the third quarter.
Swapalease.com released its quarterly lease trends report for the third quarter, which shows that search traffic for today’s auto brands was up an average of 20.1% compared to the second quarter.
Among domestic brands, Dodge Ram saw the largest jump in search traffic (33%), followed by Toyota (17%), Subaru (15%), and Acura (14%). Chevy, Buick and Hyundai saw the smallest growth in search traffic, each gaining just 1% on the quarter. Volkswagen jumped 12% during the quarter, the European brand with the largest gains for the quarter, followed by Mercedes-Benz at 7%.
BMW retains the top spot as the brand with the largest share of overall traffic on Swapalease.com at 12%, and Mercedes-Benz gained slightly recording 8% of total search traffic during the quarter, up from 7% during the second quarter. Even though Ram saw the largest jump in search traffic during the quarter, it still represents less than 1% of overall traffic in the marketplace.
The average monthly payment on a lease was registered at $484.79, a slight increase from the second quarter ($474.39). Mercedes-Benz is currently the most expensive brand to lease with an average monthly payment of $789. Conversely, Nissan is the most inexpensive brand to lease with an average monthly payment of $328, Swapalease.com said.
The report also shows that SUV leases, as well as crossovers and mid-size cars, saw declines in listings for the marketplace, while full-size cars and trucks both saw gains in listings.
“Leasing activity in the third quarter remains at extreme healthy levels according to the data in our report,” said Scot Hall, executive vice president at Swapalease.com. “We are seeing an increase in pricing activity and monthly payments, which could be attributed to more confidence in the economy, as well as the desire for more consumers to drive a vehicle at a higher price point.”