Nissan to Offer Pay-as-You-Go Lease Options for Buyers

Image: David Zalubowski (AP)

Nissan is rolling out a new lease option for buyers of certain models. Automotive News reports that Nissan’s finance arm, NMAC (Nissan Motor Acceptance Corporation) has introduced a new low-mileage lease program that customers can add more miles to if they need.

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Called SignatureFLEX, the leases start at 5,000 miles per year and go from there. Lessees can add on miles as needed throughout the life of the lease. The only downside is that SignatureFLEX isn’t available on every model right now. At the start, it’ll only be available on Rogue and Pathfinder. Nissan says it expects more models to be available with this lease program next year.

It’s an interesting move by any auto finance company, but it makes sense. NMAC vice president of sales and marketing Jim DeTrude told Automotive News that the introduction of SignatureFLEX was in response to industry trends the company had been noticing.

…customer data show a desire for lower-mileage leases. In response, Nissan last year introduced a 10,000-mile-per-year lease that became the most popular option for its new-car contracts. That was a change from 2020 when 67 percent of new-car leases were 12,000 miles per year.

So customers have been wanting lower mileage lease options. This makes sense, as the move towards working from home has enabled lots of people to drive less and save money. Nissan Motor Finance is currently assisting in dealer training so that dealers can help understand if these SignatureFLEX leases work for them.

“I’d rather the term align with their driving habits and not where they’re actually incurring additional expense versus drafting the lease initially at a 10,000- or 12,000-mile term that better fits their needs,” DeTrude told Automotive News.