Consumers seek leases on Teslas 26% more often than on Mercedes-Benz vehicles and 20% more frequently than on BMWs, Scot Hall, executive vice president of operations at car lease transfer marketplace Swapalease.com, told Auto Finance News.
Currently, Tesla offers leasing options on its Model X and Model S variants but not on the lower-priced Model 3s. Leasing accounted for only 6% of Tesla’s car sales in the second quarter.
“Our Q3 Model 3 deliveries were limited to higher-priced variants, cash/loan transactions, and North American customers only,” according to the company’s earnings report.
“There remain significant opportunities to grow the addressable market for Model 3 by introducing leasing, standard battery and other lower-priced variants of the car, and by starting international deliveries.”
Developing a strong direct leasing program for Model 3 is “highly critical” and almost essential for a luxury carmaker trying to compete in lending, Hall said.
