At a Glance

• 53% of equipment finance executives with technology-heavy OEM coverage have lost or failed to renew a multi-year manufacturer refresh program in the prior 24 months and identified rate as the closing reason — yet 49% of the OEM counterparties involved in those losses cited structure, residual handling, or end-of-term mechanics as the deciding factor (Secured Research)
• OEMs running refresh programs in IT hardware, medical imaging, industrial print, network infrastructure, and laboratory instrumentation are increasingly underwriting the residual position themselves — the funder competing on rate alone has already lost
• The refresh program that wins is the one structured around the manufacturer’s installed-base economics, not the funder’s standard product set — TRAC, fair-market-value, step-payment, and consumption-aligned structures matter more than the headline coupon
• Programs that survive renewal at 36 or 60 months share a common feature — a written disposition protocol that defines who handles the trade-in, who bears the residual position, and how the OEM’s installed base is protected during the upgrade

The Rate Quote That Ended the Conversation