GM to return to vehicle leasing early this year

According to Mark LaNeve, GM’s sales chief for North America, General Motors plans to re-enter the vehicle lease business early this year. The leasing business could see about 5 percent of its U.S. sales said LaNeve.

“We’re looking to re-enter the leasing business on at least a limited basis at some point in 2009,” GM’s sales chief for North America, Mark LaNeve, told Reuters.

GMAC stopped financing vehicle leases last year when credit tightened and the economy slowed down. However, last month GMAC won approval to become a bank holding company and the U.S. Treasury also took a $5 billion stake in the finance company.

GMAC getting back up on its feet will help GM win new sales in the coming months said LaNeve. He said that he would like GM’s leasing business to return to 5 percent to 10 percent of sales rather than 20 percent to 25 percent.