“Surely cars are cheaper than ever with every dealership/manufacturer struggling ..” A common statement (or query) which the CarLease team have received during these interesting times, and, has COVID-19 made car leasing cheaper?
Since the UK went into lockdown in March, the automotive industry soon followed, with most companies and organisations either shutting completely or, like us, operating on a lower-resourced and more flexible basis. The face-to-face nature of dealerships coupled with the offices which finance companies have, made negotiating the new world of leasing a tricky one.
Most of our March/April conversations were about payment holidays/furlough and this is something which we will discuss in a later blog.
The reality is very few personal and business customers wanted a new vehicle during this time and those that were asking about vehicles were often bored at home or were raising nothing than more than the ominous “tentative enquiry”.
To be direct, with the pressure and focus really being on customers who had payment issues, we asked most of our customers to use the website as a pricing mechanism and, when they were in a position to move forward, speak to our team about moving forwards with their new car or new van.
Like many businesses our high quality and service-led approach was significantly tested during an unprecedented and tumultuous time period.
Towards the end of April/early May, there was a seismic shift in attitudes towards buying/leasing a car – confidence was starting to come back and customers were ready to commit. However, there was some feeling that cars would be cheaper in the Covid-19 era. Is this actually the case?
On the whole, cars have NOT become cheaper as a result of what has occurred and deals on stock vehicles are actually lower than we would normally expect. Where we try to educate our customer is that yes, there is small minority of cars which customers have cancelled during March/April and which are available to lease at a reduced rate.
These are cars which were registered before the shift in VED/road fund licence costings which came into force on 1 April and the finance companies or dealerships need delivering as a matter of urgency. However, we are looking at a small proportion of vehicles which are under this category.
While the lockdown has been in place very few manufacturers have been building, transporting or delivering cars. Customers with a factory order slot have therefore been pushed well beyond what thy expected and so we now have a significant backlog and a shortage of vehicle to offer customers (on an expedient basis).
Where things are a tad more complicated is the shift from petrol/diesel combustion options towards electrified options in the form of hybrid, PHEV and fully-electric. The type of cars being manufactured are changing and customers are having to adapt.
There is now some real confidence and the fact that face-to-face transaction are limited does not stop us from operating or our dealership/finance company partners. We are all now working cohesive to make deals happen.
Indeed, one of big June leasing deals has been on the ultra-luxury and performance car which is the RR Sport SVR. 
Without a doubt one of the leading SUV options to lease in 2020, this is the epitome of style and speed. Working with our leading Land Rover supplier, Williams Manchester (https://www.williamsgroup.co.uk/about-us/williams-manchester-trafford/), our team have been offering a great 2 year deal on the SVR. This is NOT a COVID special, simply a great option for customers to benefit from some enhanced discounts and residual values.
The fact we have such great interest in the car shows just how much economic confidence there is in the market.
If you ready to a lease a new car and want the help and assistance of a trusted leasing broker, just let us know. We are now getting back to some form of normality and are happy to assist.
Specification of our recently delivered RR Sport SVR
And now more importantly – in terms of the car shown, the Range Rover Sport Estate 5.0 P575 S/C SVR 5 door Auto (Petrol), this is based on the following configuration:
- Metallic Paint – Estoril Blue
- Perforated Windsor leather – Ebony with suedecloth inserts
- Extended Satin Brushed Aluminium trim finisher
- 22″ 5 split spoke gloss black finish alloy wheels – Style 5083
- Suede cloth ebony headlining
- Colourway Ebony/Ebony
- Red SV brake calipers
- Black Contrast Roof
As standard the car includes Windsor leather, meridian 825W surround sound system, heated front and rear seats, 21” alloys, pixel LED headlights, climate control, Red SV brake calipers, climate control, lane departure warning, rear view camera, adaptive cruise control, blind sport monitor including reverse traffic detection.
Acoustic front and rear glass, heated rear windows, heated washer jets, rain sensing wipers, CBC, DSC, emergency braking, hill descent control, hill launch assist, front and rear premium mats, SVR sports suspicion, apply car play/android auto, remote premium, traffic sign recognition, powered tailgate, push button, navigation pro system, auto dimming rear view mirror, InControl protect, power folder/dimming/heated door mirrors with approach lights, DAB radio, adaptive brake lights, automatic headlights, follow me home lighting heated steering wheel.
Extended leather upgrade, SVR steering wheel, sports pedals, 16-way driver/passenger electrically adjustable SVR performance seats, 4-way lumbar support, performance seats, keyless entry, trailer stability assist, 60/40 immobiliser and intrusion sensor.
In terms of addition options (free or chargeable) consider -privacy glass, head up display, secure tracker pro and the sliding panoramic roof.
On the technical-side company car and business owners can note the P11d at £100,305.92 and CO2 at 338g/km. The 5000CC supercharged petrol engine delivers 22.2 combined MPG, 575ps and 0-62 times of 4.5 seconds.
The service intervals on the SVR are every 12 months or 16,000 miles, whichever lands sooner.
See our current Range Rover Sport leasing offers
