Financing for electric vehicles continues to gain more momentum.
A few days after Bank of America finalized a relationship with Lucid Group, Arcimoto announced on Wednesday that manufacturer has entered into an agreement with FreedomRoad Financial, a loan production office of Evergreen Bank Group, to provide consumers with vehicle financing for Arcimoto’s family of EVs.
“This is a milestone for Arcimoto and our customers, and FreedomRoad Financial’s dealer financing solution will make it easier than ever to own an Arcimoto electric vehicle,” Arcimoto chief experience officer Lynn Yeager said in a news release.
FreedomRoad Financial is one of the largest U.S. national powersports finance companies, providing retail financing to riders on numerous brands.
“We are proud to add Arcimoto as our newest OEM and to help their customers realize their dreams of owning an FUV, one of the most exciting and innovative new EVs on the market today,” FreedomRoad Financial managing director Tom Collins said in the news release.
The credit union located near your residence or business might only be a fraction of the size of ,say, a bank with a national footprint.
However, when you add together that credit union with its contemporaries throughout the U.S., then you have what Experian discovered — the largest participant in auto financing.
Through the first three months of 2022, Experian said …
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Bank of America is electrifying its presence in auto financing.
This week, the bank finalized a strategic relationship to Lucid Group — which claims to have the longest-range, fastest-charging electric vehicle on the market — to form Lucid Financial Services, an all-new digital platform offering a flexible, fast and easy financing process, including lease and purchase options to Lucid Air customers.
The program is accessible to U.S. customers now taking deliveries of Lucid Air Grand Touring models and will also be available to customers taking delivery of Touring and Pure models later this year.
The Lucid Financial Services digital platform is designed to enable all aspects of the vehicle purchasing process to be completed online, including the finance application and e-signing of the finance contract.
Lucid Financial Services also offers a concierge service with a high-level of personalized support that can assist customers in navigating the application process.
Bank of America plans to offer Lucid Air customers competitive financing rates that are subject to approval. Customers can apply for 24-, 36- or 48-month leases, as well as retail installment contracts with various length terms.
“Lucid Air customers have requested flexible financing options, including lease and loan purchase, with many of them preferring a 100% digital experience,” said Amira Aly, Lucid’s director of financial services. “Lucid Financial Services is all about delivering a best-in-class finance journey from online application to e-signing with full transparency of terms and flexible purchasing options.
“Our goal is to transform vehicle financing by introducing new processes that enable our customers to experience the luxury and technology of Lucid electric vehicles,” Aly continued.
Bank of America reported that customers applying for auto financing initiated through its digital platforms increased by 21% in 2020 and another 18% in 2021 to a new high of 77% as of year-end 2021, reflecting a steady and meaningful increase in consumer interest in digital auto purchasing.
“We are delighted to provide tailored financial solutions to customers for leasing or buying Lucid vehicles, and our digital solutions make it fast and easy to apply for financing,” said Fabien Thierry, head of vehicle lending products at Bank of America.
“Our relationship with Lucid helps us meet growing consumer demand for electric vehicles and reinforces our $1 trillion commitment to environmental transition and low-carbon solutions,” Thierry went on to say.
Solera Auto Finance (SAF) launched in March during NADA Show 2022, building momentum and bettering its own initial growth estimates.
The company recently said it is already well-positioned in the used-vehicle finance market, signing dealer agreements and funding contracts within two months of its introduction.
And before May closed, SAF announced the upward revision of its short-term targets in the face of this accelerated market adoption.
“We have a robust offering, a motivated team, and a strong network that is growing on a daily basis. Solera Auto Finance planned to launch initially in seven states and add about a dozen more in the next six months,” Solera Auto Finance chief executive officer Kenn Wardle said in a news release. “I’m proud to say we have made quick inroads with dealers and customers in a record time. SAF is already operational in 20 states within two months of its launch.
“Based on our accelerated growth and performance, we are revising our short- and long-term growth targets and now plan to be operational in all 50 states within the next one year,” Wardle continued.
SAF said that it “levels the playing field” for dealers, enabling them to provide the same seamless experience with a “captive-like” financing solution that designed to rival “even the most prominent used-car disrupters.”
Amongst SAF’s first customers is Virginia-based dealership Town Auto Brokers.
“What attracted us to Solera Auto Finance was their straightforward financing solution with an all-digital, online option and competitive financing rates," Town Auto Brokers general manager Rena Bateman said in the news release.
“We are excited to collaborate with a company that is easy to reach and impressed by the customized service provided to us at every step in the process. Based on our interaction, this is the key differentiator of why we believe Solera Auto Finance is making quick inroads in the used car finance segment,” Bateman went on to say.
SAF mentioned that can provide a new competitive financing option that fully integrates with Solera’s Dealer Management Systems (DMS), including Auto/Mate for franchise dealers and IDMS for independent dealers.
Having expanded to 20 states, SAF is already actively recruiting in others for its high-speed rollout.
In the current, highly competitive used-vehicle market, SAF said it will empower dealers to engage new customers with a fast, simplified lending solution for buyers and dealers. With its purpose-built financing solution, car buyers can receive financing decisions in seconds.
SAF also said it can fund the dealer significantly faster than the current process, which can take several days for many franchise and independent dealers. As SAF’s artificial intelligence-driven technology continues to mature, Wardle said dealer funding time is expected to shrink to mere hours.
“We are fulfilling our promise of enabling independent and franchise car dealers to provide competitive-rate auto loans to the non-prime segment of used car buyers,” Wardle said. “By the year-end, we expect to extend our offering to the full spectrum of used-car buyers.
“Besides reducing operating costs, SAF’s commercial value proposition for used car dealers is designed to positively impact the automotive industry, create a seamless journey for car buyers, accelerate the financing and funding processes and provide a superior car-buying experience,” he went on to say.
Dealers who take advantage of Solera Auto Finance will also qualify for a unique rewards program that can reduce or eliminate their Solera DMS solution fees.
Details about the program, including how to enroll, are available at www.soleraautofinance.com or via email at info@soleraautofinance.com.
Continuing our series of special episodes of the Auto Remarketing Podcasts featuring general sessions from this year’s Auto Intel Summit — an added benefit for Cherokee Media Group Premium Members — a trio of industry leaders compare and contrast the direct and indirect auto financing models.
The panel features Lou Loquasto of FIS, Scott McMahon of Equifax and Tarry Shebesta of PureCars.
To listen to the episode, go to this webpage.
Inovatec Systems co-founder and chief executive officer Vlad Kovacevic alluded to new products being in the pipeline when Cherokee Media Group reconnected with him in March during the American Financial Services Association’s Vehicle Finance Conference.
Backing up those mentions, the cloud-based software solutions provider last week released its Inovatec LMS 2.0 platform, a management and servicing system designed to help finance companies automate and streamline workflows.
Inovatec highlighted the platform’s roster of new features, customizations and expanded integrations can give finance companies the ability to seamlessly manage portfolios, take proactive remedial steps and better monetize contacts over their full lifecycles.
“We have always believed that portfolio management is where lenders actually make money, and we developed our next generation LMS to achieve this objective,” Kovacevic said in a news release. “This platform leverages innovative technologies including AI and advanced analytics, and has a wide range of integrations with third party solutions. This empowers our customers to minimize manual work and maximize performance.
“We see this LMS platform as a perfect illustration of how to use advanced technology to deliver tangible benefits to the thousands of lenders that are looking to become more agile, efficient and profitable,” Kovacevic continued.
The company also mentioned the LMS 2.0 solution’s updated functionality includes improved integrations with industry-standard platforms and innovative partners such as Google’s Looker analytics suite, Solutions By Text’s communications platform, the Neo predictive analytics platform, QuickBooks accounting software, and the REPAY payments platform.
The tool also features an enhanced workflow module and improved loan management tools. These allow users to better organize queues and permissions and more easily search for delinquent loans via a custom date range.
All told, the Inovatec LMS 2.0 enhancements include:
—Configurable automated workflows: Inovatec’s advanced loan servicing system now allows administrators to organize improved queues and permissions so they can more easily manage and escalate cases. Workflows can be better distributed and optimized through these customizations.
— Configurable work queues and tools. Administrators can specify any criteria/range to create custom work queues, allowing lenders to manage their businesses in whatever way is most effective for their model. For example, LMS 2.0 can let users search for late payments based on any date range they choose, as opposed to a limited range of 30 days at a time, making it easier to identify and manage delinquencies.
— Automated late fee feature: The LMS now can let users create customized late fees and manage the logic regarding when those fees are applied. The system can flag users as to whether or not the fee should be charged based on the assigned grace period and the customer’s payment patterns.
— Accounting system integration: The Inovatec LMS 2.0 solution directly integrates with major accounting systems and can now generate daily QuickBook files either automatically or manually.
— Google looker integration: An integration with Looker can allow users to quickly analyze datasets to identify more meaningful, intuitive data insights. This makes it easier for managers to build a more accessible data exploration platform.
— REPAY payment and reverse files capability: The LMS now integrates with the REPAY payment technology platform, which reduces the complexity of electronic payments. It processes REPAY payment and reverse files, sending REPAY Bill Load Files back to REPAY.
— Solutions By Text integration: Inovatec’s LMS now integrates with Solutions by Text, the provider of a text messaging platform for consumer financial services institutions. This integration can enable finance companies to securely accept payments via text, meeting a range of communications preferences and complying with strict regulatory requirements.
— Neo Integration: Neo’s platform provides AI and machine learning-based predictive scoring for underwriting and collections, based on past loan performance. These highly accurate, customized algorithms can provide visibility into potential at-risk contracts, and allow finance companies to create realistic programs to help faltering borrowers get back on track.
— Operating lease daily processes: LMS 2.0 can accommodate a new range of daily processes for operating lease contracts, including the calculation of daily cost capital depreciation and taxes and monthly rental accruals.
— Improved balloon loan portfolio: New fields have been added to the details section for loan portfolios and contracts, to help loan officers better delineate when balloon payments are in force and manage those accounts.
— Securitization fields and upload files: The system now accepts, stores, and displays specific securitization fields, and indicates whether a contract is included in a securitization partner’s tranche.
For information on Inovatec’s integrated loan origination system, loan management system and customer portal solution, visit www.inovatec.com.
Franchised dealers for Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, RAM and Fiat will continue to have a familiar option when helping their customers in the finance office.
Last week, Santander Consumer USA Holdings, which does business as Chrysler Capital with these dealers, announced it has reached an agreement with Stellantis to amend and extend the master private label financing agreement through 2025.
Under the agreement, which is nearing the end of its original 10-year term, SCUSA has been the automaker’s preferred provider for consumer financing, vehicle leases and dealer loans.
This amendment extends the contract term through December 2025 and updates certain terms to allow SCUSA to serve in a complementary role to Stellantis’ recently launched captive finance company, Stellantis Financial Services US, which came via the acquisition of First Investors Financial Services Group.
“Santander Consumer has served as the primary finance provider for Stellantis since 2013,” Santander Consumer USA Holdings chief executive officer Mahesh Aditya said in a news release.
“While Stellantis announced in 2021 the formation of its own captive finance arm, SC and Stellantis have continued to enjoy a mutually beneficial working relationship,” Aditya continued. “We are pleased to formally extend our partnership and look forward to continuing to help Stellantis succeed.”
In the same news release, Stellantis chief affiliates officer Philippe de Rovira added, “Santander Consumer has been a strong partner for Stellantis for many years. We are proud to have SC continue as a preferred partner, as we grow Stellantis Financial Services US into a full-service captive lender, offering a wide range of financing options to meet the needs of our customers.”
Our special episodes of the Auto Remarketing Podcasts featuring general sessions from this year’s Auto Intel Summit — an added benefit for Cherokee Media Group Premium Members — continue with a quartet of top finance company executives.
During this panel moderated by RouteOne’s Justin Oesterle, the conversation includes Stephanie Alsbrooks Hanson of Tricolor Financial, Joanna Dean of Toyota Financial Services, Andrew Stuart of TD Auto Finance and Marc Womack of Santander Consumer USA.
To listen to the episode, go to this webpage.
Within the week of being named one of this year’s Emerging 8 honorees, Car Capital showed again why it’s gaining momentum in auto financing.
The technology company that strives to get any deal bought no matter the consumer credit background is continuing to build its network of dealer partners with CarLotz coming aboard on Wednesday.
According to a news release, Car Capital is starting out its relationship with CarLotz in four states, including Illinois, Florida, North Carolina and Texas.
“We are delighted to have CarLotz, our first public dealer group, join our rapidly growing group of dealer partners,” Car Capital co-founder and chief executive officer Justin Tisler said in the news release. “We believe CarLotz demonstrates a dedication to car sellers and buyers on the same high level as Car Capital and we are enthusiastic about our future together helping everyone involved in the car buying process.”
Car Capital dealer partners have access to a proprietary, SaaS platform — Dealer Electronic Auto Loan System (DEALS) — that can give them the ability to approve up to 100% of typically credit-challenged vehicle buyers that come into their dealerships, allowing those consumers to have greater confidence in their ability to purchase a vehicle at CarLotz dealerships.
In DEALS, dealer partners can make real-time modifications to deal terms based on the economics of each unique vehicle and consumer and dealers can earn back-end profit off their sales determined by performance, instead of the commonplace, industry-standard minimum portfolio size requirement.
In February, RightWay, which operates more than 40 independent dealerships in the Midwest, started to use Car Capital’s platform. Now CarLotz will be.
“Car Capital welcomes CarLotz as a significant addition to our flourishing network of dealer partners,” Car Capital chief revenue officer Cory Cox said. “The innovative model of CarLotz fully aligns with the ideals of Car Capital and our shared goal to help those customers typically underserved in the marketplace.”
Car Capital along with the other Emerging 8 honorees will be in the spotlight during the Auto Intel Summit, which is scheduled for April 12-14 in Raleigh, N.C.
The agenda for the event designed to answer “what’s next” within auto financing and more can be found at www.autointelsummit.com.
TD Auto Finance president and chief executive officer Andrew Stuart is part of the luncheon and opening panel discussion at the Auto Intel Summit, which looks to provide some clarity of “what’s next” for auto financing.
Stuart also is involved with a major undertaking TD Auto Finance announced on Thursday. The bank has launched real-time payments for its network of dealers, becoming what the institution believes is the first indirect auto finance provider to roll out the ability to send real-time payments nationwide.
With real-time payments, TD Auto Finance explained in a news release that it can fund dealers as contracts are booked throughout the day, rather than sending batch payments overnight via ACH.
TD Auto Finance pointed out this payment path can provide dealers with improved cash flow management and greater visibility into their financial position.
“We understand how important cashflow is to dealers. Our goal with real-time payments is to make life easier for dealers by eliminating the need to wait for payments overnight and giving them maximum confidence in their cash position and ability to operate their business,” Stuart said in the news release.
“We’re proud to be the first major auto lender to introduce this capability for dealers and we believe our focus on driving payments innovation is critical to deepening our dealer relationships,” added Stuart, who was the 2018 Auto Finance Executive of the Year and returned to his current position in December.
TD Auto Finance first introduced real-time payments in October to a pilot group of dealers. The nationwide rollout is currently underway and will be available in phases over the coming weeks to dealers whose banks are live on the RTP network, the real-time payment system from The Clearing House.
The launch of real-time payments to TD Auto Finance dealers represents a significant milestone in TD Bank’s overall commitment to deliver this technology to our commercial and retail customers.
Since connecting to the TCH network in November 2019, TD has experienced a substantial increase in demand for real-time payments, and as an owner bank of The Clearing House, will continue to invest in this capability to deliver a legendary experience across our customer base.
“We are excited to see TD Auto Finance bringing real-time payments to its dealer customers through the RTP network,” said Steve Ledford, senior vice president of product development at The Clearing House.
“The RTP network is designed to foster innovation so financial institutions can offer their customers value added, faster payment services, such as real-time payments from TD Auto Finance,” Ledford continued in the news release.
Payments and more topics will be in the spotlight during the Auto Intel Summit, which is on deck for April 12-14 in Raleigh, N.C.
After the opening panel featuring Stuart along with Stephanie Hanson of Tricolor Financial, Joana Deans of Toyota Financial Services, Marc Womack of Santander Consumer USA and Justin Osterle of RouteOne, the AIS agenda is full of more discussions and workshops.
To see the agenda and register, go to www.autointelsummit.com.
