Luxury Car Owners Will Ante Up for Multi Vehicle Lease Option

4 November 1998

Study Reveals Luxury Car Owners Will Ante Up for Multi Vehicle Lease Option

    BOSTON--(AutomotiveWire)--Nov. 4, 1998--Luxury vehicle owners would happily pay up to $200 per month more for a lease program that provides access to different vehicles over the course of the year, reports a study released today by the Campbell Group, a Boston-based automotive consulting firm.
    According to Campbell Group president Bernard G. Campbell, 50% of survey respondents stated that they would pay an extra $125 per month for this flexibility, and 25% stated that they would fork over an extra $200 per month on top of their normal payment. The 400 respondents to the study are current lessors of luxury vehicles, with annual incomes ranging from $50,000 to $200,000 and up.
    A program like this already exists, for a select few: executives of vehicle manufacturers. "This study reinforces something we'd suspected for quite some time," said Mr. Campbell. "And that is that many people would like access to a pool of vehicles, just as auto executives themselves do. What's interesting is that fully half are willing to pay quite a premium for this flexibility."
    The interest was motivated by a number of forces. Many car enthusiasts were excited by the variety of vehicles accessible for one payment; others cited the practicality of driving a vehicle that fit the season (for instance, a four-wheel drive vehicle in the winter and a convertible in the summer). Many retirees who live in a Northern state for part of the year and a warm weather climate for the remainder saw the program as a natural fit to their needs.
    This, notes Mr. Campbell, points to a need for vehicle producers to go beyond viewing themselves solely as manufacturers and more as transportation service providers. "I can picture the showroom of tomorrow offering a Bronze row of vehicles for those paying $300 a month, a Silver row for those paying $450, and a Gold for those paying $600," he said. "Customers will pick the vehicle that suits their need at the time and exchange it for another whenever they want."
    Mr. Campbell concedes that there are obstacles that do stand in the way of such a program, notably the increase in the pool of used vehicles manufacturers must ultimately sell. He notes, however, that "manufacturers spend billions trying to distinguish themselves by getting better and more cost-efficient; consumers are just asking them to spend some time `getting different.'"
    Campbell Group is a management consulting firm specializing in research and strategy work for the automobile industry, based in Boston, Massachusetts.