Along with rolling out new resources for dealerships, CUDL highlighted last week that its credit union vehicle financing platform closed 2024 with $41.16 billion in funded contracts. Last year, the company said a growing number of credit unions embraced the technology fueled by artificial intelligence available through CUDL, resulting in faster decisioning and funding. Credit […] [Read More]

Cherokee Media Group asked Satyan Merchant whether finance companies opened the year with an optimistic outlook, a pessimistic view or something in the middle. The senior vice president and auto and mortgage business lead at TransUnion shared his assessment amid this backdrop: many consumers who are now considering auto financing may be reentering the market with far more complicated credit pictures than they did even just a few years ago. “Cautious optimism is the way I would describe it with auto finance companies. Again, that theme of ... [Read More]

Pickup trucks and SUVs have long been the dominant vehicles in the U.S. market, but that dominance could be diminishing, according to the latest study by the Dave Cantin Group. The automotive M&A advisory firm’s semiannual Market Outlook Report, released this week in conjunction with the NADA Show, said its data shows American consumers have […] [Read More]

The week ending Jan. 18 was a relatively strong one for Canadian wholesale used-vehicle values. The overall market was down just 0.17% for the week, according to Canadian Black Book’s weekly Market Insights report, with seven of the 22 segments gaining value. Midsize cars rose 0.35% ($59) to lead the way, with luxury cars ($54, […] [Read More]

Dealership profits are expected to fall in 2025 – but franchise dealers are still bullish on what’s ahead this year. That’s one finding of a pair of reports issued this month by buy-sell advisory firms based on survey data and projections for the coming 12 months. The 2024 Kerrigan Dealer Survey, a survey of more than 635 franchise dealers conducted by Kerrigan Advisors late last year, found an equal number (43%) believe ... [Read More]

The industry’s wait for the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau (CFPB) to release more findings stemming from its project associated with auto financing finally ended on Thursday morning. The CFPB said its resulting report showed that the rate of auto repossessions at the end of 2022 surpassed pre-pandemic levels. Additionally, the bureau said finance companies were […] [Read More]

Cars Commerce has strengthened its position in the wholesale automotive space this week with the acquisition of DealerClub, a reputation-based dealer-to-dealer digital wholesale auction. The purchase, which closed Thursday according to a news release, included approximately $25 million in cash and has a potential for additional performance-based consideration of up to $88 million. DealerClub was […] [Read More]

It has been quite an odd and unprecedented week for the auto industry and its largest annual event. Amid the historic snowstorm that hit New Orleans on Tuesday and hampered travel into the city for NADA Show 2025, the president and CEO of the National Automobile Dealers Association released a statement Thursday morning, providing an […] [Read More]

Artificial intelligence technology provider Impel is joining with FordDirect in a strategic partnership to bring Impel’s conversational AI products to Ford dealers and Lincoln retailers nationwide. FordDirect is a joint venture between Ford Motor Company and its franchise dealers that serves as the data hub connecting them. Through a direct integration with FordDirect’s Customer Journey […] [Read More]

Within hours of being inaugurated for the second time, President Trump officially designated Andrew Ferguson as chairman of the Federal Trade Commission. “I am honored that President Trump chose me to lead the Federal Trade Commission,” Ferguson said in a news release. “Under the president’s leadership, we will end the previous administration’s assault on the […] [Read More]