They can pull forward new-vehicle sales while boosting satisfaction and retention, but the benefits of automakers running early-exit offers within their leasing programs can also be found on the certified pre-owned side of the business, as well.

That’s according to Scot Hall, executive vice president of Swapalease.com, who talked with Auto Remarketing about this practice, which is quite common in the business.

For example, BMW Financial Services has conducted early-exit programs three times this year, the most recent of which runs through the end of the month, according to a company spokesperson.

Lincoln just launched one this month for current Mercury lessees and Lincoln MKZ/MKZ hybrid lessee that will go through the end of the year.

In this program, a Lincoln spokesperson explained that current Mercury lessees are allowed to exit their lease up to six months early with the stipulation they buy or lease a new Lincoln vehicle in the current lineup.

Customers currently leasing MKZ or MKZ hybrids, the spokesperson explained, must renew into the 2012 class of MKZ/MKZ hybrids.

Generally speaking, Hall said, these types of programs — where the lessee exits his or her lease early and gets into another vehicle from the automaker — accomplish a few tasks: “It will increase sales, it will increase satisfaction and, of course, help them retain customers, as well.”

Delving more into how they can boost satisfaction, in particular, Hall added:  “Very often … people’s needs change on a vehicle. It can be very difficult to get out of a lease if there’s not some flexibility permitted by that manufacturer and/or that leasing company,” he said, noting that the need to leave a lease may be financially or lifestyle-driven.

“When people feel trapped, that can cause dissatisfaction. If people feel that they have flexibility and some options, our feedback from our clients indicates that they have a much greater satisfaction with that particular lease and/or manufacturer,” he added.

But, again, it’s not just new-car side that benefits. The lease pull-ahead programs can aid CPO programs when there is a lack of used supply, Hall emphasized.

In fact, when discussing certified pre-owned sales results in early September, Volkswagen’s Scott Weitzman mentioned how the lease pull-ahead program VW ran this summer helped its dealers on the CPO front.

 “Our dealers were able to maintain a consistent supply of late-model vehicles with help from an aggressive lease pull-ahead program that ran over the past three months,” Weitzman told Auto Remarketing in September. “VW dealers pulled ahead more than 2,000 units that were scheduled for maturity in the second quarter of 2013.”

VW notched its best-ever August for CPO sales, moving 7,557 units during the month. This marked nearly an 18-percent year-over-year gain and was also the third-best month of all time for the brand.

“Used cars are still difficult to come by,” Hall said. “There is a lot of demand and a short supply, so this is a good way for manufacturers to not only win by creating new vehicles for their CPO programs, but also keeps those values high for leases moving forward.”

And as far as other areas of a dealer’s business, those can benefit, too, said Hall.

 “Everywhere from parts sales to service to financing, as well,” he said. “It’s going to give them a very clean and relatively new used vehicle. But even in those cases, they’re going to need to run that vehicle through their service department to make sure it is road-ready,” and fix any problems, if need be.

“It gives them another opportunity to sell parts for that vehicle. It will give them an opportunity to make some money on the financing angle and the extended warranty on that vehicle, even under the CPO program,” Hall continued. “So, it’s going to hit all aspects of a dealership in a positive fashion.”