Chrysler’s Leasing Crutch

With three months of more cautious leasing under its belt after a yearlong hiatus, Chrysler is ready to step up its efforts. The goal: to have leasing generate 10% of sales in the next six to eight months, up from 7% of sales now.

Using November sales as an example, Chrysler is aiming for 6,356 leases by 3Q10, compared with 4,449 currently. That’s an increase of 43%, which seems pretty aggressive to me.

Chrysler vehicle sales have been battered this year, plunging 25% in November alone. The OEM hopes that “increased” lease offers, combined with model upgrades, will get sales back on track. But does Chrysler really want a 43% boost in lease volume? I’m not so sure.