Vehicle leasing

Vehicle leasing offers advantages to both buyers and sellers. For the buyer, lease payments will usually be lower than payments on a car loan would be. Any sales tax is due only on each monthly payment, rather than immediately on the entire purchase price as in the case of a loan. Some consumers may prefer leasing as it allows them to simply return a car and select a new model when the lease expires, allowing a consumer to drive a new vehicle every few years without the responsibility of selling the old vehicle, or possible repair costs after expiry of the manufacturer's warranty. A lessee does not have to worry about the future value of the vehicle, while a vehicle owner does. For a business lessor there are tax advantages to be considered.

For the seller, leasing generates income from a vehicle the seller (or manufacturing corporation) still owns and will be able to lease again or sell through vehicle remarketing once the original (or primary) lease has expired. As consumers will typically use a leased vehicle for a shorter period of time than one they buy outright, leasing may generate repeat customers more quickly, which may fit into various aspects of a dealer's business model.

Leasing's average retail market penetration rate in the United States for new passenger vehicles reached an all-time record high of 26.5% in February 2014.[1] This represents a recovery from a severe drop during the financial crisis of 2007–08. As of 2016, leasing accounted for about 25 percent of total vehicle sales or 31 percent retail sales in the United States.[2]

The prevalence of leasing in the United States for GM, Ford and Chrysler have been rising close to the industry norm since reaching low single digits in 2009, but still lower than BMW and Mercedes-Benz.[3]

Lease agreements typically stipulate an early termination fee and limit the number of miles a lessee can drive (for passenger cars, a common number is 10,000 miles per annum though the amount can be stipulated by the customer and can be 12,000 to 15,000 miles per year). If the mileage allowance is exceeded, fees may apply. Dealers will typically allow a lessee to negotiate a higher mileage allowance, for a higher lease payment. Lease agreements usually specify how much wear on the vehicle is allowable, and the lessee may face a fee if that amount of wear has been exceeded.[4] A lease with maintenance (commonly known in the UK as Contract Hire) can include all vehicle running costs excluding fuel and insurance.

The actual lease payments are calculated in a very similar way to loan payments, but instead of an APR, the company uses something called the money factor.

At the end of a lease's term, the lessee must either return the vehicle to or buy it from the owner. The end of lease price is usually agreed upon when the lease is signed.[4]

Typically a leasing company will have a minimum length of lease such as 24 months up-to 60 months. Recently a new view on leasing is that the market has grown for short term lease called 'flexi-lease'. Flexi-lease is when a person can lease a new vehicle for 3 months and then choose to hand the car/van back or indeed extend the lease for another period. This is almost the same as van hire but typically involves the finance or leasing company maintaining and being ultimately responsible for the vehicle.

Some companies, such as AutoTT, offer what is known as a short term car lease in Europe. This product aims to provide a car lease free of VAT to non-european residents, the car being registered under the customer's name. The program is 50 years old and started with the French car makers Renault, Peugeot and Citroen. The offer includes a brand new car, full risk insurance and 24 hours assistance and is, in many ways, similar to a car rental. At the on their stay, the car "owner" returns the car, and has nothing else to pay.[5][6]

Similarly to the US automotive market, leasing a vehicle enables you to have access to a vehicle that you might otherwise be unable to afford if you were to finance the full value. Compared to a PCP method of finance, leasing is far more beneficial if you plan on changing your vehicle at the end of the initial contract, rather than taking ownership. There are pros and cons to vehicle leasing, just like any other vehicle financing method. Vehicle leasing is available to both businesses and individuals in the UK. Unlike the US automotive market, when you lease a vehicle in the UK, there will not be the option to purchase the vehicle at the end of the agreement.[7]

In the UK you do not need to complete an MOT for a car if the car is less than three years old. Therefore, unless your lease term exceeds three years, you will not need to obtain an MOT certificate.[8]

• Car rental
• Hire purchase and Rent-to-own
• Closed-end leasing
• Installment plan
• Chattel mortgage
• Novated lease
• Cross-border leasing
• Personal contract purchase

Indian Car Lease overview In India, car leasing market is still in growing stage. Although, there are large international service providers are present in India from past 2 decades, the concept of owning the vehicle is shadowing the idea of Leasing. This is largely because of emotional reasons.

In India, there are many reasons that are playing major roles for people to take up leasing, such as, govt policies, applicable taxes and volatile and un organized resale car market. This is resulting in lower coverage of market shares to all lease organizations.