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The leasing industry has yet to be convinced they're a replacement for the likes of VW Golfs and Vauxhall Astras, though, as James Hopkins, head of remarketing at Leaseplan, explains: "Anything that is mainstream and affordable seems to be selling particularly well at the moment, so there does seem to be a preference for smaller vehicles.
"As always, sale value does depend on a good service history and reasonable mileage; however, bigger lower-spec vehicles are selling less well than their smaller counterparts at the moment."
ALD's Rossiter agrees that a good model mix is worthwhile, but you'd never want to replace conventional models entirely.
"At my end of the business, I would like to see some standard lower medium hatchbacks in among my returns as well as some of the newer crossover-style vehicles. The lower medium sector is also very competitive with some excellent models available. Strong residuals are not exclusive to the crossover sector."
Despite BCA's belief the sector is under-represented, the Nissan Qashqai, which is widely credited with being the first serious crossover and the model that started the trend, has sold in vast numbers. It has also managed to defy its volumes and maintain strong residual values, having been hailed used car of the year by valuation firm Cap in 2011 and 2012.
Not everyone agrees that the Qashqai or any other popular crossover or SUV is as much of a sure thing in terms of residuals, though. Leaseplan's Hopkins thinks the Nissan's previously impenetrable RVs have had their day.
"In our experience, crossovers such as the Qashqai no longer hold such a strong resale value. Too many are now available due to their success in fleets, and the second-hand market demand is not yet there."
He also challenges the views of BCA and ALD by suggesting that crossovers and SUVs aren't automatically blessed with good values and guaranteed strong sales performance, saying that such models are quite sensitive to specification and trim level: "It depends very much on individual vehicle specifications. With these types of vehicles we often see that the used market price is hugely influenced by options like leather seats and in-built satnav.
"If it has those specifications it is likely to sell at a better price, and if not, this type of vehicle will often sell poorly, relative to Cap value."
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