Can Buick's new leasing program lure young buyers?
Buick is fighting hard to overcome its image problem. Once considered a domestic brand for those not quite affluent enough to purchase a Cadillac, in recent decades the Buick name has become synonymous with a mainstream product line and an aging demographic.
听Five years ago, the average age of its customers was 64, and few were looking to lease . Thanks to an innovative program called 鈥淓xperience Buick,鈥� the automaker鈥檚 lease rates are up from 14-percent in early 2012 to 36-percent at the end of last month, while the average age of its customers has fallen to 57 years old.
听础蝉 explains, Experience Buick has many features designed to lure in buyers from other brands. At just 24 months, the lease doesn鈥檛 require a long-term commitment to the brand, encouraging shoppers to sample Buick鈥檚 wares on a shortened time frame.
听The program also includes Sirius XM radio, and scheduled maintenance for the term of the lease. Longer-term, it will get Buick customers back into Buick showrooms more quickly, while increasing the inventory of certified pre-owned cars available at dealerships.
听The Experience Buick program has clearly helped to up Buick鈥檚 鈥渃onquest rate,鈥� defined as customers trading in a competing brand (or lacking a trade-in altogether). Buick鈥檚 overall conquest rate has grown to an all-time high of 43-percent, while the conquest rate for the Experience Buick program is at 55-percent.
听For some models, it鈥檚 significantly higher: the has a conquest rate of 66-percent, while the next-size-up has a rate of 63-percent.
听It鈥檚 easy to read between the lines here, and the numbers clearly indicate that more shoppers than ever are giving GM鈥檚 near-luxury brand a second look. Could the once-stodgy brand become GM鈥檚 next big thing? Stranger things have happened in the automotive world.
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