GrooveCar Direct — a vehicle buying resource for the nation’s credit union industry — is expanding through new partnerships with a pair of institutions in the Southeast.

Recently coming aboard the program are Insight Credit Union, which is based in Orlando, Fla., and Michoud Credit Union, which operates in New Orleans.

Insight Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative with assets of more than $530 million serving 57,200 members since 1991. Located in Orlando, Insight is considered the 25th largest credit union in Florida.

Michoud Credit Union is a member-owned financial cooperative with assets surpassing $4 million, serving 1,106 members. The credit union opened in 1980 with the main office located in New Orleans.

As the economy improves, GrooveCar pointed out that credit unions like Insight and Michoud can take advantage of growth opportunities found in auto financing by providing members with a resource to drive interest and business. Company officials highlighted that since 2012, credit unions have increased their auto business nearly 30 percent, with a 16 percent increase last year.

The GrooveCar program can provide an advantage to credit unions in the market for capturing more vehicle installment contracts from members. The auto buying program can give members with all the resources and interactive functions expected when shopping for a vehicle online.

“The GrooveCar Direct program is the nation’s leading online credit union automotive product. Credit unions are empowered with the ability to grow their auto loan portfolio from within while serving members with the best data, research and value in the auto buying market,” said Robert O’Hara, GrooveCar vice president of strategic alliances.

“For further consideration, our program effectively communicates with the member, an area of interaction credit unions are seeking to fill as in-branch communications are on the decline,” O’Hara continued.

The company also mentioned the process to go “live” with GrooveCar is designed to be seamless with online and phone support as well as a comprehensive training session that takes place under an hour. GrooveCar provides all the necessary tools for a credit union to succeed in marketing the product including customized marketing materials, regular marketing consultations and branding resources.

“Clients comment frequently on how a simple a process it is to partner with GrooveCar,” officials said. “Favorable feedback is repeatedly centered on the live technical support and minimal resources required to get started.

“The comprehensive auto buying resource serves up everything consumers expect to have access to — research and comparison tools, build out features, car values and history reports — all branded to the credit union client and cross promoting the other related products offered,” they went on to say.

Additional information may be found at www.groovecarinc.com/GrooveCar-Direct.