Toyota, Rivals Sell Car Leasing to the Family Sedan Crowd

When Toyota Motor needed to bounce back from an embarrassing series of product recalls and the 2011 Japanese earthquake, it turned to low-cost leases to lure customers to dealer showrooms. It worked. The revived global auto market leader is using the same strategy in 2013, offering $199-a-month deals to keep its Camry in the No. 1 sales position in the U.S.—only this time pretty much the entire auto industry has joined the party.

Traditionally a tool for luxury vehicle makers, leasing deals are now common for family sedans such as Ford Motor’s Fusion and Honda Motor’s Accord. Driven by high used-car prices, low interest rates, and Americans’ tendency to buy vehicles based on the monthly payments rather than the sticker price, U.S. auto leasing is at the highest levels in at least a decade and sales are on track to become the industry’s best year since 2007.