Consumers are splashing out on more upmarket leasing deals

DRIVERS are looking to premium models after a year of careful budgeting according to Leasing.com data, with more expensive models such as the Range Rover Sport and Volvo XC40 returning to the ‘best-seller’ lists for August 2021.

Compared with the same month in 2020 – which was clearly affected by Covid-19 – affordable leased vehicle enquiries grew 38% in August 21; that’s for vehicles priced between £100-£300 per month. In comparison, enquiries for high-end models (£400-£600 per month) increased 59%, according to the leasing broker deal aggregator.

The trend indicates a ‘return to normal’ spending habits is on the cards in the vehicle leasing sector, a good indicator of how the overall UK economy is faring.

Leasing.com’s top 10 models by sales enquiry for August 21 include the Range Rover and Volvo already mentioned, as well as the BMW 1 Series – the latter topping August’s league table outright.

Paul Harrison, head of partnerships at Leasing.com, said:

“While we are still seeing the greatest number of leasing enquiries for vehicles under £300 per month, the migration to more expensive monthly rentals suggest some customers are beginning to return to pre-Covid spending habits and rewarding themselves with a little more luxury after the difficulties of the last 18 months.

“Motorists are increasingly turning to personal leasing to enable their next new car transaction. Our research shows that personal leasing is consistently cheaper than Personal Contract Purchase (PCP) over the duration of the contract for equivalent vehicles.”