Thanks to some zero-percent finance deals around the Thanksgiving holiday, the annual percentage rate on new-car financing decreased a bit from October to November, according to Edmunds.
But the new-car APR is up more than a percentage point from November 2017 and nearly 2 points from where it was five years ago.
Furthermore, Edmunds emphasizes that the zero-percent deals aren’t likely to stick around and that consumers should expect 6 percent-plus APRs for the foreseeable future.
Specifically, the new-car APR was at 6.03 percent in November, against 6.2 percent from October, Edmunds said. However, a year ago it was just 4.81 percent, and five years ago it was 4.11 percent.
“Car buyers got a bit of relief this month thanks to Black Friday deals, but an average interest rate above 6 percent is still a tough pill to swallow, especially for shoppers who might be coming back to the market after a number of years,” said Jeremy Acevedo, Edmunds’ manager of industry analysis, in a news release.
“Shoppers who purchased a car in November five years ago could feasibly be facing a 47 percent increase in their interest rate this November,” he said.
Sharing more details on new-car financing for the month, Edmunds said the average term was 69.14 months, compared to 69.26 in November 2017 and 65.65 in November 2013.
Monthly payments rose from an average of $524 a year ago to $551 last month. Five years ago, the average new-car monthly payment was $483.
The average amount financed was $31,877 in November, compared to $31,433 a year ago. That’s also up from November 2013, when the average amount financed was $22,967.
The average down payment on a financed new car was $4,164 last month, compared to $3,906 a year ago. It was $3,785 in November 2013.
Going back to the point on zero-percent financing, 5.5 percent of deals had this kind of offer last month. Despite this being up from prior months, it was the lowest mark for November in 13 years, Edmunds said.
“Automakers are certainly offering more zero-percent finance deals this holiday season than they have in previous months, but they’re still few and far between,” said Acevedo. “Consumers who are thinking of buying and are planning on financing their next purchase might want to strike while the iron is hot, because these deals are not likely going to last beyond the New Year.”
Mingled within rounds of Thanksgiving feasts, consumers likely will be purchasing an array of items, confidently leveraging discounts from a variety of retailers.
But when it comes to buying a vehicle during the holiday weekend, Capital One Auto Finance found that consumers aren’t as confident as they are when purchasing towels and televisions.
Based on a recent survey conducted by Capital One Auto Finance, the finance company indicated consumer concerns over the current vehicle-buying process — including transparency, time issues and overall confidence — could keep them from bringing home a vehicle for the holidays.
Three highlights from Capital One’s survey included:
— Only 6 percent of respondents find the vehicle-buying process completely transparent.
— Only 20 percent of respondents feel very confident when shopping for a vehicle.
— Sixteen percent of respondents say they are “a boss” when it comes to negotiating during the vehicle-buying process.
The survey of 1,002 U.S. adults ages 18 and older and was conducted on behalf of Capital One Auto Finance using Engine Insight’s Online CARAVAN omnibus. Of the 1,002 participants, 693 did not work at a dealership or ad/public relations company, have purchased a vehicle in the past, are planning to get an auto loan or ever had one.
The survey was fielded on Oct. 15-17.
“The car-buying process does not need to be a source of stress. And this current state of trust and transparency in car-buying needs to be addressed,” said Jeff Rabinowitz, managing vice president, Capital One Auto Finance.
In response, Auto Navigator by Capital One is designed to provide a digital inventory of millions of vehicles from thousands of participating dealerships across the nation so consumers have all the information needed to confidently find and finance a purchase.
Auto Navigator can support consumers by allowing them to see if they pre-qualify for financing with no impact to their credit score, saving them both angst and time before heading to the dealership.
“Capital One is dedicated to helping consumers feel confident throughout their car-buying journey,” Rabinowitz saud, Auto Navigator and our Auto Learning Center make the car-buying process easier and more efficient for today’s consumer.”
For more information about Capital One Auto Navigator, visit www.capitalone.com/cars.
Technologically forward consumers often order their coffee ahead of time and pick it up at the counter, spending less time in the shop than it took you to read this sentence.
Well, Dealertrack wants to help dealerships and finance companies serve those consumers who want to purchase an SUV nearly as fast as that latte. On Monday, Dealertrack announced a new F&I software platform dubbed Dealertrack uniFI.
Auto Fin Journal connected with Cheryl Miller, vice president and general manager of Dealertrack F&I Solutions, in advance of Monday’s official launch to discuss how the vehicle-buying process has changed since Dealertrack came onto the scene.
“Dealertrack was the original fintech. We created the electronic path between the dealers and the lenders,” Miller said. As the consumer needs have evolved and the dealer needs have evolved, that’s taken it to a whole new level of expectations in the market. If you think about the consumer thought process of if I can go on any website for any retailer and buy something, why hasn’t buying a car become much easier?
“When we started looking at the workflows of the different systems, and Cox Automotive started coming together with all of the solutions it can bring to the market,” she continued, “we started down a journey about how do we look at this workflow, and how do we make it more efficient?
“There are three key players in the transaction, the consumer, the dealer and the lender. We want to make a much better experience for all through the pipeline. The consumer has expectations, and the dealer wants to satisfy those expectations,” Miller went on to say.
The company highlighted the new platform is designed to streamline the vehicle-buying process for consumers, dealers, finance companies and warranty providers by offering a single platform that seamlessly can connect the entire deal process with open integration.
Dealertrack uniFI addresses a major pain point for consumers, dealers and lenders. Less than half of consumers are satisfied with the three hours it takes on average to finalize their vehicle purchase at a dealership, according to Cox Automotive’s 2018 Car Buyer Journey Study.
Dealers recognize the issue with 69 percent concerned about the need to deliver a better customer experience and increase the efficiency of their sales process, according to 2018 Cox Automotive Dealer Communication & Operations Study.
On the finance-company side, Dealertrack acknowledged delays often occur around multiple systems requiring rekeying of data and the error rate on paper contracts.
This final stage can be complicated with different systems handling different parts of the process, such as credit checks, contract applications, taxes, titling and trade-in values. Dealership staff navigate on average more than six different systems to finalize a sale, a Cox Automotive poll showed.
Dealertrack uniFI can bring together these different systems to create a seamless F&I solution. Instead of switching between multiple systems and re-entering data each time, dealership staff can use Dealertrack uniFI to run credit checks, submit credit applications, structure deals and calculate accurate payments, add aftermarket products, and speed trade-in payoff and title release.
Dealertrack highlighted this single platform also can generates compliance-specific documents that meet federal laws and regulations and creates a check-list to track actions — all in one digital deal jacket. Dealertrack uniFI connects both online and in-store interactions, making it easier to seamlessly track the entire car-buying experience for each customer.
“After our upgrade to the new Dealertrack uniFI platform, I’ve experienced a level of efficiency that gives me both speed and accuracy and allows me to work more deals for more customers in a shorter period of time,” said Richard Cirami, finance director of North Shore Honda in Glen Head, N.Y., an early customer of Dealertrack uniFI.
Dealertrack uniFI can streamline the process by creating a single system built as an open platform to make it easier to connect various systems needed to handle different parts of a car deal. The open platform can allow Dealertrack uniFI to work with other Cox Automotive solutions, solutions from other providers as well as with Dealertrack’s network of more than 1,600 auto finance institutions.
“F&I is the backbone of any dealership, and Dealertrack uniFI has made a significant impact on our business by making our F&I process faster from start to finish,” said Joe Speaker, sales manager for Neuwirth Cars On Market in Wilmington, N.C., who’s also an early customer of Dealertrack uniFI.
“I now utilize more lenders and the faster workflow has made me a more valuable employee. The quicker turnaround time in F&I also means happier customers and better CSI scores,” Speaker continued.
Miller emphasized to Auto Fin Journal that dealerships that adopt this new platform quickly can enjoy similar results to North Shore Honda and Neuwirth Cars On Market.
“The car-buying experience should be an exciting time for consumers, but it’s often lengthened by a set of disjointed technologies required to finalize the sale,” Miller said. “Dealertrack uniFI creates a single technology platform to simplify the process. Dealership sales staff spend less time logging into and typing data into various systems, enabling customers to enjoy their new vehicles more quickly and freeing dealers to focus more attention on serving customers.
“In today’s fast-paced world, we could all use some extra time,” Miller added. “Dealertrack uniFI is one way that Cox Automotive is trying to help both customers and dealers gain back time that they can spend on more enjoyable and productive activities.”
Two developments surfaced on Friday involving Carvana; one involving a serious amount of financing capacity and the other much more light-hearted as an effort to drum up interest in the online used-vehicle retailer.
First the funds as Ally Financial announced it is providing up to $2.3 billion in financing commitments over the next 12 months to support retail contracts from and inventory needs of Carvana.
Also, in celebration of their mutual affinity for e-commerce, Carvana and the characters from Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” are joining forces throughout a multi-channel campaign to highlight just how fun it can be for consumers to buy a vehicle online in as little as 10 minutes and have it delivered to their door as soon as the next day.
While the Disney movie is designed to bring out laughter, it’s certainly not funny business about the relationship Ally and Carvana have.
In its third year of financing agreements with Carvana, Ally will provide up to $1.25 billion available for bulk purchases, in addition to providing a $350 million warehouse credit facility. The $650 million floorplan credit line includes a two-year commitment and represents an increase of $300 million over the existing credit line.
“This latest agreement builds on the strong relationship we’ve established with Carvana and speaks to our commitment to supporting auto retailers as they develop innovative, digital financing experiences for their customers,” said Doug Timmerman, president of auto finance for Ally.
“Our extensive experience in the auto business enables us to tailor financing agreements that make it possible for our customers to reach their goals, and in Carvana’s case, change the way people buy cars,” Timmerman continued.
In the first two years, Ally had agreements to provide up to $2 billion in financing commitments for retail contracts from Carvana. The funding has helped position Carvana for growth as it works with more consumers.
The latest agreement also includes an increased floorplan credit line and continued vehicle sourcing through Ally’s SmartAuction platform.
“We’re on a mission to change the way people buy cars,” said Ernie Garcia, Carvana founder and chief executive officer. “This newest commitment from Ally gives us increased flexibility in investing in the growth of our company and ability to continue to deliver exceptional customer experiences every day.”
Customers who visit Carvana.com can shop more than 10,000 vehicles, finance, purchase and sell their current vehicle to Carvana in as little as 10 minutes, from the comfort of home or on the go via their mobile device.
Carvana offers as-soon-as-next-day delivery in 81 cities across the U.S. and has vehicle vending machines in 14 cities in Texas, Tennessee, North Carolina, Florida, Arizona, Ohio, Pennsylvania and Washington, D.C.
Carvana leveraging Disney movie in promotional campaign
The last thing any e-commerce company wants is for someone to break the internet. Even if that someone is Wreck It Ralph, himself.
But that’s exactly what he and Vanellope are doing in the highly anticipated Disney movie, “Ralph Breaks the Internet,” hitting theaters on Nov. 21.
Carvana is riding along for an exciting collaboration with the movie.
Throughout November, Carvana advertising featuring Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” will be all over — you guessed it — the internet, as well as TV, out-of-home and digital channels, including Carvana.com. Fans can tag along and see Ralph and Vanellope breeze through the world of online car buying with Carvana and mark their calendars to see the movie, only in theaters on Nov. 21.
To celebrate the launch of the campaign, Carvana hosted an online sweepstakes for one lucky winner and a guest to attend Disney’s “Ralph Breaks the Internet” Hollywood premiere in Los Angeles, all expenses paid.
Carvana kicked off national TV advertising with a 30-second commercial that combines animation and live-action footage, following Ralph and Vanellope as they go on a shopping spree through the internet and wind up with more than they expect.
The clip can be seen here.
Before the movie is on the big screen, visitors to Carvana.com will be greeted by Ralph on their computers and mobile devices, and will even have the chance to do 360-degree virtual vehicle tours of cars from the movie.
Commuters who pass by Carvana’s vehicle vending machines in the Phoenix metro area — where the company is headquartered — and Orlando, Fla., will also get a glimpse of Ralph, featuring a custom-designed wrap advertising the movie on can’t-miss, all-glass towers.
Digital channels, including social media, display ads and third-party listing sites, will encourage fans to see “Ralph Breaks the Internet” on Nov. 21 and buy their next vehicle online.
“Cars are a central storyline element in both movies, and now that Ralph and Vanellope are entering Carvana’s world, it was fitting that we join forces to showcase how we’re making car buying fun again,” Carvana chief brand officer and co-founder Ryan Keeton said.
“We hope ‘Ralph Breaks the Internet’ fans have as much fun seeing the movie as we did developing the elements of this campaign,” Keeton went on to say.
Platforms like Amazon give consumers the pathway to purchase everything from mechanical pencils to a drone in the middle of the afternoon or night with just a few swipes on a smart device.
Now Darwin Automotive is putting F&I software in place to give vehicle buyers the same flexibility.
This week, the company announced the release of Darwin Direct, which is designed so dealerships can now empower customers to purchase, contract, e-sign and pay for F&I products 24/7, 100 percent on their own, absent any human involvement from the dealership.
JM&A Group, a national leader in F&I consulting, is currently piloting Darwin Direct through its dealer customers.
In addition, Darwin Direct will soon be piloted by other major F&I providers.
“Darwin Direct provides our dealers with an F&I growth opportunity that is exactly what the industry needs right now,” said Scott Gunnell, vice president sales operations and strategy with JM&A Group. “It is designed to combat the ongoing issue of margin compression and the lost opportunities from customers leaving the dealership without purchasing F&I products.
“Customers can now access and purchase F&I products from the dealership whenever and wherever they chose; a shopping mall, the service drive, customer’s home, their smartphone, you name it. The profit potential is significant,” Gunnell continued.
“We are excited about the future and this kind of opportunity where our dealers’ customers can enjoy an excellent experience as part of the vehicle-buying process,” he went on to say.
The company highlighted more than 3,000 dealerships have enrolled in Darwin Automotive’s F&I software in just the past two years.
Darwin Automotive chief executive officer Phillip Battista referenced how eager consumers turn to platforms like Amazon to find items they want.
“I believe a significant part of our industry wants to offer customers more self-serve functionality similar to Amazon, so we have launched Darwin Direct,” Battista said.
“For years dealers have stated that lost F&I sales are a huge hole in their business. As F&I is so important to overall profitability, it’s an absolute must to go after these sales in a way that is easy for consumers to do on their own,” he continued.
According to Battista, OEMs currently market extended service contracts to consumers and, if the customer chooses to buy, the OEM gets 100 percent, and the dealership gets nothing.
“Dealers are losing out on a tremendous amount of F&I revenue. Now they can market and sell F&I products directly to consumers 24/7,” Battista said.
“Price and payment are completely integrated with Service Payment Plan, which even offers zero percent financing for 24 months. Our dealers enjoy substantial gains in F&I profit, because we provide a process that resonates with the typical consumer and delivers their options for F&I protection in a way not previously seen,” Battista added.
For more information or to schedule a product demonstration, call (732) 781-9010 or visit www.darwinautomotive.com.
Dealertrack now has a closer relationship with two captive finance companies.
On Monday, Dealertrack announced the expansion of its partnership with Hyundai Motor Finance and Kia Motors Finance making Dealertrack Contracting available in 39 states, including Texas, California, New York, Florida and Arizona.
Dealertrack’s proprietary contracting offering can enable Hyundai and Kia dealerships to more accurately submit automotive contracts electronically to their captives in real-time, resulting in funding as fast as same day.
Dealertrack Contracting, which is expected to roll out across all 50 states by the end of October, is designed to eliminate the cost and hassle of the traditional and mistake-prone approach with the use of electronic validations, mobile signing and immediate delivery of funding packages.
Dealertrack believes this milestone announcement underscores the scaled growth of electronic contracting usage by captive finance companies, with Hyundai Motor Finance’s and Kia Motors Finance’s enrollment rate nearing 35 percent across the manufacturer’s more than 1,600 dealers nationwide.
“Our relationship with Hyundai Motor Finance and Kia Motors Finance is strengthened by our contracting expansion that helps lenders and dealers efficiently conduct business while meeting car shoppers’ rising expectations for a better car buying experience,” said Cheryl Miller, vice president and general manager for Dealertrack’s F&I dealer and lender solutions.
“Consumers want a fluid, digitally-driven dealership experience, and Dealertrack Contracting provides Hyundai and Kia dealers the ability to deliver that experience to their customers,” Miller continued.
One of Hyundai Capital’s pilot dealers who has reached a high utilization rate shortly after enrollment with Dealertrack Contracting stated it’s all about efficiencies.
“Electronic contracting comes with plenty of benefits like same-day funding, reduction of paperwork and verifying all data upfront. Funding through electronic contracts is as fast as one hour, which helps us save time,” said Mike Lahham, general manager of Kia Downtown Los Angeles.
“Electronic contracting has definitely benefited our store by making it easy for us to minimize mistakes as the system verifies all data before signing the contract. From a profitability point of view, it increases our bottom line by having a faster cash flow in our system as well,” Lahham added.
Dealertrack Contracting can replace the traditional approach of paper contracting that relies upon both fax machines and mail. The solution also can mitigate manual data entry and calculations, paper contracts with “wet” signatures and reduces documents needed to mail to lenders.
As a result, Dealertrack contends the technology can cut expenses, enhance contract accuracy and the customer experience, reduce the amount of time it takes to submit a contract and get funding the same day in most cases.
Dealertrack and Hyundai Capital America’s relationship began in 2003 when Hyundai Motor Finance and Kia Motors adopted Dealertrack’s Credit Applications tool. Now, with the expanded partnership to further streamline F&I processes and contracting efficiency with Dealertrack Contracting, Hyundai retailers can electronically rate, remit and submit aftermarket products to Hyundai Motor America and the final contract to Hyundai Motor Finance.
The companies say the result is a simplified deal flow process, streamlined application process, less paper and faster funding.
“Our goal was to launch electronic contracting in all fifty states and to enroll 25 percent of our dealers by the end of 2018. We have achieved that goal three months early,” said Eckart Klumpp, senior vice president of sales and marketing at Hyundai Capital America.
“Dealer and customer satisfaction continue to be top of mind for us. Dealertrack’s electronic contracting allows us to efficiently service our dealers and provide them with same-day funding,” Klumpp continued.
“This is a rewarding initiative and HCA will continue to invest in capabilities to further drive our dealer adoption of electronic contracting and enhance the overall customer vehicle purchase journey,” he went on to say.
Since oftentimes potential buyers are cruising website and making considerations based on their monthly budget, truPayments recently introduced tru Shop-by-Payment and the ShopByPayment.com website.
Company officials explained that tru Shop-by-Payment is a Software-as-a-Service product for dealers and finance companies aimed at turning the buying process upside down by leveraging new technology.
The company explained that tru Shop-by-Payment can provide a one-to-one personalized shopping experience, allowing consumers to shop simultaneously for their vehicle and financing across all a dealer’s inventory and finance programs, for all available terms, with rebates, incentives, specials, ePrice, trade-in equity, etc., calculated and applied.
This experience is powered by the patent-pending truPayments engine and the company’s new Grail Adaptive Digital Retailing platform.
Tarry Shebesta, chief executive officer of truPayments, indicated that the customized shopping experience begins not with selecting a vehicle, but with personalization. Shebesta noted each customer journey is uniquely built around the customer’s preferences, financial profile and the context of their activities.
For the majority of consumers, Shebesta insisted that monthly payment is the No. 1 factor when buying a vehicle, but it’s the last thing buyers learn. Similar to offline processes, he acknowledged most digital retailing solutions begin when a customer selects a vehicle to purchase, after which they can figure out what their payment options might be.
By starting with credit, Shebesta pointed out that customers can see only vehicles and financing options for which they actually qualify.
“Presenting customers with inaccurate payments results in frustration, embarrassment and lost sales,” Shebesta said. “Comparison shopping for cars based on real credit and monthly budget creates an empowering customer experience.”
Shebesta mentioned credit information is obtained using a “soft pull,” which does not impact on the customer’s credit. He added the process is completely private and does not require sensitive personal information, such as Social Security Number or date of birth.
“Wow! Is how customers feel when they experience tru Shop-by-Payment,” Shebesta said. “They discover vehicles they didn’t know they could afford or a payment they didn’t know they could get.”
Parent company, Automobile Consumer Services, introduced Shop-by-Payment functionality in its DriveItNow product in 2013. And now, tru Shop-by-Payment “takes personalized payment shopping to the next level,” according to the company.
Dealers and finance companies can learn more at ShopByPayment.com.
If a consumer sees a vehicle they like at the grocery store parking lot, their child’s school or just about anywhere, USAA is giving its members the opportunity to gain information immediately about potentially buying a similar unit.
USAA — which provides insurance, banking, investments, retirement products and advice to more than 12.4 million current and former members of the U.S. military and their families — announced this week it is piloting an augmented reality application that aims to make vehicle buying easier for its members.
The app, which uses Blippar’s car recognition and AR technology, can allow members who are in the market to buy to point their mobile device at any vehicle year 2000 or newer and instantly see information like purchase price, cost of insurance and any similar vehicles for sale in the area overlaid on the car.
AR — which is probably best-known for gaming apps, such as Pokémon GO — is predicted to play a key role in consumers’ shopping experiences in the future. The USAA app will allow a member to quickly access USAA’s Car Buying Service, including local dealers and interest rates, in addition to providing cost and availability information.
Providing convenient and innovative self-service solutions has always been critical to serving USAA’s members.
“Since 1922, USAA’s goal has been to provide great service through exceptional experiences,” said Chris Cox, chief digital officer at USAA. “We welcome the opportunity to explore a variety of augmented reality use cases that are ultimately meant to make our members’ lives easier and facilitate their financial security.”
The app is being piloted on USAA’s member innovation website, usaalabs.com. Members can login and sign up to participate in the pilot to test the app and provide feedback. The company will then incorporate that feedback into the next phase of the app.
“Trends show that consumers are increasingly using digital channels to complete the entire car buying process,” said Heather Pollard, vice president of USAA Auto Experience. “By testing this new augmented reality capability, we hope to transform and enhance our members’ experience by making it as easy as possible for them to access the information they want, when they want it.”
One of the lead sponsors of Used Car Week 2018 is placing even more emphasis on its fintech operations.
On Monday, Digital Recognition Network (DRN), an AI and data analytics company that provides vehicle location data and analytics to finance companies, insurance carriers and other commercial verticals, announced the creation of its new client services unit — as part of its fintech division — to help its clients to be more strategic.
The client services unit can provide its clients with consulting services, on-site training and monthly reporting, so they can gain greater insight into DRN's vehicle location data (also known as automated license plate recognition, or ALPR data) and leverage the data to drive results.
Using the monthly reporting capabilities, the client services unit conducted a review of its clients’ usage and performance from January to August and found that DRN’s auto-finance clients receive a 193-percent average return on their investment from the suite of products in DRNsights.
DRN’s fintech division can help financing providers, ranging from local credit unions to top 100 auto finance companies, mitigate risk via DRNsights, its suite of products that combines DRN’s exclusive vehicle location data with analytics to provide new locations for targeting assets.
“The fintech division has expanded in the past year, as the demand for our ALPR technology has increased,” said Todd Hodnett, executive chairman and founder of DRN. “We created the client services unit to make sure that we continued to provide the best customer service possible, which includes ensuring our clients are taking optimal advantage of our solutions to achieve strong results for their businesses.”
The client services unit’s team works with clients to help them use DRN data to better understand vehicle location behavior analytics, so they can predict risk earlier and implement new collection strategies to reduce losses.
Additionally, to accommodate the needs of the growing fintech division, DRN has promoted the following team members:
• Jeremiah Wheeler has been promoted to executive vice president and general manager for DRN’s fintech division. In this role, Wheeler heads up the fintech business unit including sales, support and product management. He is responsible for developing DRN’s fintech strategy to ensure alignment with market needs and trends, as well as to anticipate new fintech market opportunities.
• Stephen Nethery has been promoted to senior vice president of client services for DRN’s fintech division. In this capacity, Nethery manages DRN’s new client services unit that provides reporting, training and consulting services to DRN’s fintech clients.
• Andy Cameron has been promoted to senior vice president of fintech and manages DRN’s recovery agent and provider relationships, as well as ALPR camera sales and support.
In addition, DRN has recently hired the following fintech team members:
• Nick Haaf has joined DRN as senior executive director of national enterprise accounts. In this role, Haaf partners with the DRN team on business development for all segments of indirect auto and other key industry segments. He is primarily focused on the top 100 national auto lenders and integrating the use of our data for optimal financial ROI and other key performance results. Prior to DRN, Haaf served in executive leadership roles with CU Direct Connect, California Republic Bank, Exeter Finance and Experian.
• Oscar Nunez has joined DRN to serve as director of product for the fintech division. Nunez is responsible for overseeing the technical development of new and existing solutions for the fintech market. He previously served in senior leadership roles with Uber, Capital One Auto Finance and Bank of America.
Since 2009, DRN has helped the auto finance industry recover nearly $8 billion in asset value delivered back on finance companies’ books, representing a significant risk reduction on delinquent portfolios. DRN maintains more than 7 billion nationwide vehicle sightings with more than 161 million captured monthly using ALPR technology.
DRN, along with Allied Solutions, Equifax, Millennium Capital and Recovery Corp. and SmartAuction, are the presenting sponsors of Used Car Week 2018, which begins Nov. 12 at the Westin Keirland Resort and Spa in Scottsdale, Ariz. Registration discounts as much as $600 are available through Oct. 16.
Complete details can be found at www.usedcarweek.biz.
Auto-finance industry participants that know the name Fiserv now have a new moniker to place in their contact listings.
On Thursday, Fiserv Lending Solutions announced the launch of its new brand identity. The joint venture between Fiserv and Warburg Pincus will now be known as Sagent Lending Technologies, a new identity that reflects the company’s values and dedication to improving the lending experience for both lenders and borrowers.
Sagent Lending Technologies stated that it can help its clients succeed by empowering them to exceed borrower expectations, increase efficiency and improve agility in an ever-changing compliance environment.
The company explained the name Sagent is a combination of two words, sage and agent. Sage refers to the three decades of experience helping lenders grow and highlights its associates’ expertise. The word agent highlights its goal to act as an agent of change and growth within the lending industry.
The company’s sage leaf icon represents growth and new opportunities and the two halves of the whole leaf symbolize the seamless joining together of the company with its clients. With its new corporate identity, Sagent Lending Technologies has introduced the tagline “grow wisely.”
“With a refreshed brand identity that highlights our differentiated approach and a dedication to our clients, we are positioned to grow and take on any challenge,” said Bret Leech, chief executive officer of Sagent Lending Technologies.
“Both lender needs and borrower expectations are evolving rapidly so we are investing in our technology to keep our clients several steps ahead of their competition. Sagent Lending Technologies delivers innovative ways to make the lending experience better for everyone, with solutions that cater to our clients’ unique business needs,” Leech continued. “Sagent is there to help our clients deliver on their brand promises.”
Before the brand launch, one of the company’s top executives also received an accolade as chief information officer Shaimaa Elk was among the inaugural group of Women in Auto Finance highlighted in Auto Fin Journal. More details about Elk and the other honorees can be found here.
