During the pandemic, automotive production was thrown completely off track for a variety of reasons stemming from plant shutdowns to supply chain and labor shortages. This led to a major shift in consumer habits, with many opting to finance rather than lease, and many lessees also opting to keep their vehicles once their term was up. With the market stabilizing and returning somewhat to normal, more and more consumers are opting to lease, but Ford customers have long preferred to finance – a trend that didn’t change in Q2 2024.
According to Experian’s just-released Q2 2024 State of the Automotive Finance Market report, 80.33 percent of all Ford customers over the second quarter of the year opted to finance their vehicle purchase, versus 19.67 percent who chose to lease. That’s one of the highest finance rates in the entire industry, trailing only GMC and Dodge, in fact. Ford’s figure was down slightly from Q1 2024, however, when its finance rate was 82.59 percent versus a 17.41 lease percentage.
Historically speaking, Ford customers have long preferred to finance rather than lease, as the automaker posted a finance rate of 81.37 percent in Q3 2023, followed by 80.23 percent in Q4 of last year, which were also among the highest of any automotive brand during those timeframes as well. If nothing else, it’s an interesting data point, given the fact that some automakers have customers who lean heavily toward leasing rather than financing – most of which are luxury brands, whose vehicles tend to depreciate at a more rapid rate.
Regardless, Ford still ranked as the fifth most-leased automotive brand in Q2 2024 as well, accounting for 5.53 percent of the overall market – trailing only Honda (11.67 percent), Toyota (8.80 percent), Hyundai (6.75 percent), and Chevrolet (6.38 percent) in that regard. That figure has decreased over the past couple of quarters, however, as it came in at 6.18 percent in Q4 2023, followed by 5.39 percent in Q1 2024.
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