Infiniti Ponders Lower-Mileage Leases For New Urban Customers

Infiniti has been riding strong demand in the South and the West to relatively strong sales results as America enters the next phase of Covid-19, but company executives have been watching closely to see if an intensification of the pandemic in states including Florida and Texas might produce a significant drag on the luxury automotive brand’s nascent recovery.

Continued demand by white-collar customers who remain employed is one driver of demand, Jeff Pope, group vice president of the Nissan-owned brand, told me. Infiniti is pondering new wrinkles to appeal to the core urban and suburban cohort in a post-pandemic world.

For one thing, brand executives understand that more Americans may shy from public transit because of their concern about infectious transmission — and many of these people may be in the market for a personal vehicle for the first time, or for the first time in a long time. Yet many of these urban consumers still don’t have to drive a lot of miles.

“Maybe we could consider shorter-term or lower-mileage leases for people who live in cities,” Pope said. Right now, Infiniti has leases for as few as 10,000 miles a year. “But maybe we need to look at going down to 5,000 or 6,000 miles in certain markets. That undertaking is much more difficult than it sounds, having to do with our financial arm and how you value vehicles [coming off leases]. We have to look at all opportunities.”

In the meantime, Pope credited “very aggressive” incentives by Infiniti, including zero-percent loans for six-year terms, for boosting business. “Individuals are making difficult decisions with finances right now, so we’re trying to make the financial impact on them as painless as possible,” Pope said. “That’s how you still see the sales volumes coming through.”

Infiniti already has helped its savvier dealers pivot more strongly and quickly into online sales and service than would have been the case without the pandemic, Pope said, including a new package of services called Infiniti Now. The brand assists dealers with pick-up and drop-off services, remote deliveries, test drives and other new expectations of automotive shoppers in the Covid-19 era.

The brand’s approach also includes helping dealers “actively and articulately communicate with consumers online,” Pope said. “They need to be able to set up options for consumers to see vehicles electronically and to meet consumers where they need to meet them.”

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