This week, EFG Companies and Northwood University announced the student competitors and F&I mentors participating in the second annual F&I Innovator of the Year competition.

Vying for $25,000 in prize money, this year’s 18 contestants hail from Arizona, California, Illinois, Indiana, Michigan, New Jersey, Pennsylvania and Wisconsin, and the mentors come from six different franchised dealer groups.

The credit-based competition pits the student teams against each other to conceptualize and build a new F&I product. Each team is mentored by an F&I director, and the competing teams develop a business case for their new F&I product that incorporates industry research, market viability, and the product’s potential to facilitate F&I product sales in franchise dealerships. The teams will also keep weekly YouTube video diaries of their progress, challenges and breakthroughs.

“The mentors’ industry experience is invaluable in guiding the competitors on the real-world challenges facing dealerships today,” said John Pappanastos, president and chief executive officer of EFG Companies.

“From changing consumer purchasing behaviors, to increased FTC and CFPB compliance oversight, and a call for enhanced transparency, these mentors will impart a wealth of knowledge that spurs innovation among the students,” Pappanastos continued.

The teams and mentors include:

—Angular Momentum: Charles Elledge of Coal City, Ill., Charles Wheatley of Rancho Santa Margarita, Calif., and Harry Collins of Franklinville, N.J.; mentored by Ben Hagan of the Bob Moore Auto Group, Oklahoma City.

—Envision: Alex Rogers of Lancaster, Pa., Ali Nasrallah of Dearborn, Mich., and Zach Peters of Philadelphia; mentored by Caleb Hargreaves of the Hanlees Auto Group, Davis, Calif.

—Groundbreakers: James Skop of Petoskey, Mich., Tori Mason of Detroit and Zach Luchenbill of Pinkney, Mich.; mentored by Sam Levin of the Nyle Maxwell Auto Group, Austin, Texas.

—Triple Clutch: Amanda Poriefka of Midland, Mich., Harrison Ervin of Chesaning, Mich., and Mollie Arnold of Lowell, Ind.; mentored by Dena Moore of the Davis-Moore Auto Group, Wichita, Kan.

—Team Turbo: Cody Davidson of Green Bay, Wis., Kendra Taylor of Flushing, Mich., and Mark Ruhle of Royal Oak, Mich.; mentored by Greg Grimes of the Rohrich Auto Group, Harrisburg, Pa.

—Team Vigilance: Alec Bond of Lindin, Mich., Houston Huff of Tucson, Ariz., and Lucas Myhre of Austin, Texas; mentored by Craig Drew of the Central Maine Motors Auto Group, Waterville, Maine.

 Each year, Northwood selects the best and brightest students from the Automotive Marketing and Management Program to participate in the F&I Innovator of the Year competition. To be eligible for participation, each student must maintain a 3.0 GPA, and hold internships or extracurricular activities in the automotive industry.

The competition runs through Nov. 11 when a panel of leading dealer principals and EFG executives will judge each team’s business case. EFG Companies will award the winning team $25,000 and will develop the winning F&I product for the retail automotive market. The company will also return a percentage of the product’s revenue to Northwood University.

For more information on the competition, visit this website.