Chrysler’s UK and European units are continuing to offer a full range of finance and lease products after the parent company announced an end to leasing in the US, a spokeswoman told just-auto.
Go deeper with GlobalData
“We’re continuing as normal,” she said.
Chrysler LLC and affiliate Chrysler Financial at the weekend said they would “take advantage of developing trends in the economy and the car-buying environment by enhancing retail financing incentives and moving away from leasing”.
“The industry-wide economic conditions that made leasing popular in the past have changed, and the pendulum is swinging back in favour of purchasing and financing. Credit is tight and expensive, and residuals are unpredictable. These two factors have made leasing more expensive to the point of not being in our customers’ best interest,” the automaker said in a statement.
Chrysler Financial will end lease offers from 1 August and concentrate on retail instalment loans, though US dealers can still make lease financing arrangements with other institutions.
“Chrysler’s new incentive strategy will create retail finance deals with low payments, typically found only on lease deals. With these deals, customers can get low monthly payments, through Chrysler Financial, with the benefits of ownership,” the automaker added.
“With this strategy, we look to attract more purchase-oriented customers, and shift our lease customers to purchasing and financing.”
Customers already leasing Chrysler vehicles will not be affected, the company stressed.
New instalment plans on offer include 0% APR for six years on a selection of Chrysler, Dodge and Jeep models.
