Lessees Unlock Average of $7,000 from Buyouts, Dodge Ranks #1 for Equity

BURLEY, Idaho, Nov. 01, 2022 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) -- Lease End, the leading online platform empowering consumers to take control of their end-of-lease options, today announced the findings of its inaugural Roadmap Report, highlighting trends in car leases with the goal of educating consumers about their financial options. The report shows an industry average of $7,000 in retained value per vehicle, with surprise upset Dodge leading brands in equity, and popular choices Honda and Toyota following closely behind. These residual values are still available to customers that act now before auto manufacturers adjust market expectations.

Leasing a car with intent to exercise a buyout option is one of the most equitable and cost-effective ways to purchase a vehicle. The data backs that up with thousands of dollars in equity available to consumers—due to shifts from the 2019 value expectations set by manufacturers and later impacted by the COVID-19 pandemic. Demand for personal transportation as well as supply chain disruptions increased equity across the board. As manufacturers continue to set undervalued end-of-term values on lease contracts, there is significant equity for consumers to reclaim through buyouts.

Lease End’s Roadmap Report
While the auto industry has conditioned lease owners to think of their car as nothing more than a rental, Lease End’s Roadmap Report aims to help consumers understand the equity waiting to be unlocked in their asset:

• Total Retained Equity: To date, Lease End has helped customers reclaim a total of $116M in equity from their vehicles.
• Popular Models Hold Value: Due to consumer demand, the most common car models saw significant increases in equity, with crossover SUVs gaining the greatest value:
  1. Honda CR-V: $8,754
  2. Toyota RAV4: $8,384
  3. Honda Accord: $7,969
  4. Toyota Camry: $7,320
  5. Honda Civic: $7,086
• Pandemic Forces Driving Value: The highest equity increases were for vehicles that met changing mobility needs during the pandemic. The Telluride experienced the greatest increase in equity from demand for larger capacity vehicles and SUVs. Challenger models provided a sporty escape for open roads, while the boom in camping positively impacted models like the 4-Runner:
  1. Kia Telluride: $13,937
  2. Toyota 4-Runner: $10,747
  3. Dodge Challenger: $10,463
  4. Honda Odyssey: $9,618
  5. Honda CR-V: $8,754
• Brand Value Expectations: On average, the following manufacturers have gained the most equity across their entire model range. Dodge leads the charts from the significant demand increase and value of Challengers models:
  1. Dodge: $8,335
  2. Honda: $7,497
  3. Mazda: $6,783
  4. Toyota: $6,780
  5. Subaru: $6,519
• Mileage Fee Savings: Lease End’s buyouts have saved customers over $6.6M in over-mileage fees alone.

“Buying out your lease is like a gold rush right now and consumers should act fast to benefit from these unique circumstances,” said Brandon Williams, co-founder and CEO of Lease End. “Manufacturers are looking ahead and adjusting their residual expectations, factoring in aspects like supply, demand, and interest rates. While we can expect the market to contract as supply and demand stabilizes, it is unlikely to dip below pre-pandemic levels—making now the best time for lessees to recapture equity through a buyout.”

Lease End is pioneering the Vehicle Asset Intelligence (VAI) category by creating unified, data-driven products for asset owners to manage leases, see real-time data, and truly understand their options. The 2022 Roadmap Report is the company's latest effort to educate consumers on how their car’s equity can be accessed. For more information on how Lease End is modernizing and demystifying the entire leasing process, visit: leaseend.com

Methodology
Lease End’s proprietary data was anonymized and aggregated from over 18,000 customers between February and October 2022. The data represents 315 models produced between 2017 and 2021 from over 36 brands. Luxury brands and models were removed for accuracy due to limited sample size.

About Lease End
Lease End empowers auto-lease owners with the technology to easily exit their lease. Lease End is a fast-growing, forward-thinking fintech company creating a better lease-end experience – one that’s more intuitive to a modern, informed consumer. Since incorporation in early 2021, Lease End’s mission has been to simplify the lease-end process and provide lease owners with the resources necessary to make educated and personalized decisions. Lease End enables users to take control over their end-of-lease options and make decisions that are truly best for them by providing innovative technology and by offering services that are centered around speed, convenience, and transparency.

Contact
Codeword for Lease End
leaseend@codewordagency.com