Credit Union Leasing of America (CULA) enjoyed a record-setting year in 2021.

The company recently tabulated and shared its annual metrics, highlighting that it helped to generate $2 billion in lease originations.

That dollar figure stemmed from originating 50,000 leases in 2021; also, a company first.

For the first time in CULA’s 34-year history the indirect vehicle leasing company exceeded 100,000 active leases in its portfolio; a feat that happened in October.

The company said its volume has nearly tripled in five years to $3.8 billion.

CULA offers leasing through credit unions in 17 states, adding six more states last year. More than 30 credit unions are currently active on CULA’s leasing platform.

Robert Cashman is chief executive officer of Metro Credit Union, which began vehicle leasing on CULA’s platform in 2021.

“Leasing is quickly emerging as an important option for car buyers who are entering a vehicle sales market with constrained inventory and record high prices.” Cashman said in a news release. “We wanted to be in the forefront of offering the affordable and flexible vehicle finance options that leasing provides."

CULA vehicle leasing also proved a key tool for dealers in 2021. CULA said experienced exponential growth in dealer partnerships, increasing the number of dealers in its network more than ten-fold in the past three years.

Cody Carter is internet sales manager at Tustin Toyota in Southern California and works with CULA.

“There are very few customers a lease won’t work for,” Carter said in the news release. “And as the market normalizes, having an alternative bank, such as a credit union, means that we can hit payments that work for our customers and gives us an edge that no one else has.”

CULA’s record growth came during year two of the COVID-19 pandemic, during an increasingly difficult market in which inventory constraints led to record high vehicle prices.

“We have never seen an auto market like this and, while 2022 promises to have its challenges, as we enter a new year on the heels of a record-breaking year, we are optimistic about the future — thanks in no small part to our extraordinary credit union and dealer partners,” CULA president Ken Sopp said in the news release.

“With leasing’s flexible terms, and payments on average $109 less than loan payments, we look forward to supporting our credit union partners as they help even more members into new vehicles in 2022,” Sopp continued. “We also look forward to our continued work with our innovative auto dealer partners as they have a measurable impact in extending leasing’s benefits to car shoppers.

“Vehicle leasing, we believe, is the perfect auto lending product, for consumers, auto dealers, and credit unions alike,” he went on to say.

Sopp also noted that even in a shrinking market, credit unions generated 20.2% of total auto financing during Q3 2021, higher than the pre-pandemic share of 19.6% in 2019’s third quarter.

“Leasing matters for credit union members, and our record-breaking numbers for 2021 prove it,” Sopp said.