GM: Leases To Be Competitive
August 05, 2009
Barely noticed in the clamor over the Cash for Clunkers effect was that General Motors Co.
announced this week it is reviving its leasing business with a pilot program rolling out for vehicles in each of its four marketing divisions.
The revived leasing program is earmarked to last for just a month.
GM said that just a year ago, leasing accounted for about 17 percent of sales; the ratio has plummeted to around 1 percent thanks to a variety of industry and credit-market travails.
GM begins leases this month for a few Buick, Chevrolet, Cadillac and GMC models. The leases won't be coming from GMAC, the company's captive finance arm, either. Instead, U.S. Bank is writing the paper.
The primary concern is to get the Cadillac premium brand back in the leasing game, because leasing is a critical sales tool in the luxury market. Cadillac's import competition has curtailed leasing but most makers continued with active lease programs for the past year that GM effectively abandoned the option.
GM is launching the all-new 2010 Cadillac SRX with a national lease to help showcase the company's return to the leasing market, but also is offering leases on the 2009 versions of the Cadillac CTS and Chevrolet Malibu and Traverse.
Several 2010 models will have lease options: the Buick LaCrosse and Enclave, GMC Acadia and Chevy Equinox.
Apart from being floated for just a month, the main restriction is that the leasing is available to buyers in just five states: Michigan, Ohio, New York, New Jersey and Connecticut.
Vice president of U.S. sales Mark LaNeve said GM determined being almost completely out of the leasing market has cost the company one to two percentage points of overall market share. -- Bill Visnic
Photo by GM
The new 2010 Cadillac SRX is a vehicle that needs a leasing plan.
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