Visits to electric vehicle segment websites were up 92% last year, according to research released by Comscore earlier this month, and the upswing was especially strong for Rivian Automotive. Website visits for the automaker were up 296% year-over-year in 2019, with Rivian’s first vehicle announcement (R1S) generating substantial interest, according to Comscore. No other automaker […] [Read More]

Ally Financial took significant action to help both consumer and dealer customers who might be experiencing significant cash-flow issues triggered by the COVID-19 health crisis. In a news release distributed on Wednesday afternoon, Ally said existing loan customers will be allowed to defer payment for up to 120 days. The company said no late fees […] [Read More]

Working to help dealerships provide test-drive services to shoppers who are practicing social distancing, DealerSocket’s DealerFire is offering its Delivery Test Drive Integration free of charge for the next 100 days to its dealership customers who use the company’s Engine6 website platform and customer relationship management. That will allow dealers to contact, schedule and deliver vehicles […] [Read More]

Atlanta Classic Cars has sold its Mercedes-Benz and Commercial Truck dealerships in Duluth, Ga., to Krause Auto Group, which owns 15 U.S. retail automotive franchises, including nine automotive franchises in the greater Atlanta area. The transaction was completed on Monday. Terms were not disclosed. The Presidio Group LLC, an investment bank that works in retail automotive […] [Read More]

Canadian consumers who might be struggling to maintain their vehicle payments stemming from the consequences of COVID-19 could be receiving a lifeline. According to a news release, Canada’s six largest banks on Tuesday announced plans to provide financial relief to impacted Canadians. Effective immediately, Bank of Montreal, CIBC, National Bank of Canada, RBC Royal Bank, […] [Read More]

As the potential coronavirus impact continually grows, a wide swath of industry associations representing dealerships and repair shops are urging federal, state and local officials to consider the importance of motor vehicle supply and repair facilities in implementing orders to close nonessential businesses as a result of COVID-19.  The actions began with John Bozzella, president […] [Read More]

Similar to the latest reading on defaults, Experian’s Q4 2019 State of the Automotive Finance Market Report showed 60-day delinquencies finished the year in a stable place as the industry braces for potential jumps in these metrics stemming from the COVID-19 pandemic. Experian pegged the overall 60-day delinquency rate at 0.79% as of the fourth […] [Read More]

FIS played a role in compiling critical guidance to help financial services companies handle cyber-risk oversight. Chief risk officer Greg Montana co-authored the incident response section of the seventh edition of the Director’s Handbook on Cyber-Risk Oversight recently released by the Internet Security Alliance (ISA) and the National Association of Corporate Directors (NACD). The guidebook, […] [Read More]

Auto Search Technologies’ transition to becoming VehiclesNETWORK continued on Wednesday as 700 Credit gained certified provider status from VehiclesNETWORK for its consumer pre-qualification (QuickQualify) and full credit application (QuickApplication) platforms. Now dealers who use VehiclesNETWORK to build and manage their websites can elect to add these two solutions to increase the value of sales and […] [Read More]

Steer, a vehicle-subscription start-up that opened for business in May, has a mission that is “very clear and quite simple,” said its chief executive, Sonya Harbaugh, during a presentation in Detroit. “Our mission is to build cleaner communities by accelerating the adoption of electric vehicles and delivering amazing customer experiences,” she said. Steer’s fleet exclusively […] [Read More]