Financing Archives | Page 26 of 98 | Auto Remarketing

Subprime not significant part of Q1 origination uptick

The deceleration of auto-finance origination stopped in this first quarter, according to TransUnion’s newest Industry Insights Report released earlier this week. But the subprime segment didn’t trigger the change.

After six consecutive year-over-year declines beginning in third quarter of 2016, analysts found that auto origination volume turned positive in Q1 of this year. Because originations are viewed one quarter in arrears to account for reporting lag and to ensure all accounts are included in the data, TransUnion indicated origination volume increased 0.9 percent to 6.79 million contracts, up from 6.73 million in Q1 2017.

However, finance companies didn’t take on more risk to stop the string of origination sags. TransUnion determined that growth was driven by a 3.0-percent yearly increase in prime plus and super prime originations.

Turns out, that the subprime segment experienced an annual decline of 3.3 percent, according to TransUnion’s information.

Analysts also explained tighter underwriting during the past few quarters appears to be positively impacting the 60-plus days past due delinquency rate.

After growing from 1.11 percent in Q2 2016 to 1.23 percent in Q2 2017, TransUnion pointed out the trend has remained flat, landing at 1.22 percent in Q2 of this year. This reading marks the third quarter in a row in which year-over-year delinquency rates have remained stable.

“We expect this shift in origination mix from lower credit tier consumers to higher credit tier consumers to continue through the end of the year as lenders look to reduce portfolio risk,” said Brian Landau, senior vice president and automotive business leader at TransUnion. This will likely result in continued stabilization in the delinquency rate.

“We expect to report higher Q2 auto loan originations next quarter, as new-car sales continue an upward trend through the second quarter,” Landau continued. “We also anticipate that an increase in used-car purchases, spurred by the shift toward lower-risk auto borrowers, may dampen new-car sales through the rest of 2018.

“The recently announced import tariffs on steel and aluminum are something to monitor, as they may have a minor impact on vehicle prices and consequently, on originations,” he went on to say. “However, we do not expect this, or any other non-credit factors, to have an outsized impact on the industry.”

Editor’s note: More data and analysis from TransUnion’s newest Industry Insights Report will be included in future reports from Auto Fin Journal and SubPrime Auto Finance News.               

*Note: Originations are viewed one quarter in arrears to account for reporting lag and ensure all accounts are included in the data.

Source: TransUnion                                

Another tech expert joins C-Level team at defi SOLUTIONS

The c-level executive team at defi SOLUTIONS now has grown by three members so far this year.

The latest addition is Jason Zubrick as chief technology officer. Zubrick comes to defi SOLUTIONS with nearly 20 years’ software architecture experience, most recently at GameStop where he worked for 10 years.

The company highlighted Zubrick will be maintaining a focus on long-term strategy while continuing the development of defi SOLUTIONS products.

Lately, Zubrick has been heavily involved in the DevOps community. He published a paper last year titled “Value Stream Architecture: Creating an Architecture to Connect the Dots in DevOps,” and has another, “Moving from Project to Product: Modernizing Traditional Enterprise Operating Models,” set for release in October.

“Jason is certainly the right man for the job,” said Lana Johnson, defi SOLUTIONS chief operating officer. “He has a reputation for successful communication, a strong work ethic and finding the right solution for the problem.

“As the technology lead for defi, he’ll have high standards to live up to. But we’re beyond confident that he’ll be a valuable addition to the team,” Johnson continued.

Former defi SOLUTIONS chief technology officer Rob Dufalo has moved into the role of chief innovation officer. With more than 15 years of experience creating new software and technology, Dufalo holds two patents for work he created at Microsoft. His new role involves the development of ideas and products that support the company’s growth and vision.

Growing from six employees in 2012 to now more than 100, defi SOLUTIONS said it “continues to add new people, capabilities and products that meet the needs of lenders. defi’s web-based technology offers business user configurability, quick implementation, system scalability, and integration with more than 50 data partners.”

Merchant Partners and Acima Credit join forces for repair option for subprime customers

For consumers who needed a subprime auto finance company to accept their application because of a soft credit profile, Merchant Partners and Acima Credit are collaborating to assist those same individuals who encounter financial hardship stemming from vehicle repair.

The partnership revealed this week combines the technological prowess of Merchant Partners — owner of a leading automotive payment management software, 1stMILE — and the financing capabilities of Acima Credit to provide more flexible financing to thousands of repair shops across the nation. The 1stMILE software currently serves more than 8,000 automotive locations nationwide.

"Our top priority with 1stMILE is to get more cars on the lifts for our customers and grow their revenue," said Bob Church, senior vice president of sales and marketing with Merchant Partners. "The Acima program is a key contributor to help us get this done, and we’re excited by how this partnership can help our customers boost their profits."

Acima Credit specializes in financing options for the estimated 40 percent of Americans who suffer from damaged credit scores or a lack of credit history. With a 90-day payment option and direct-reporting to Experian, Acima Credit said it can help consumers spread payments over time and establish a credit history.

By offering financing options for those with low FICO scores (or no credit history at all), Acima Credit can help merchants increase revenue and gain customers who would have been lost to credit denial.

“We believe that our customers are more than just a credit score,” said Aaron Allred, founder and chief executive officer of Acima Credit. “Acima’s quick and easy point-of-sale financing helps consumers in economically vulnerable markets with the much-needed resources to fix their cars when economic conditions have left them in a tight spot.”

The 1stMILE platform can make no-credit-needed financing more accessible. Its software can provide automotive locations with a suite of financial-integration tools that can help maximize revenues and lower costs, all without a markup for payment processing.

The software also can recommend alternative financing to subprime customers who fail to qualify for traditional credit.

With this new partnership, no-credit-needed financing will be offered through nearly two dozen automotive point-of-sale systems that are integrated with the 1stMILE platform.

“The 1stMILE/Acima integration is second-to-none,” said Jason Burt, who manages three Burt Brothers Tire locations in Salt Lake City. “It gets us more work orders. It gets us higher ticket totals. It gets us all the things that pump our business. From an owner’s perspective, it’s something every (tire) company should have. Bar none, it’ll increase revenue.”

PointPredictive fraud tools now available to all defi SOLUTIONS customers

Finance companies that use the defi SOLUTIONS platform now have additional tools to combat fraud.

PointPredictive, a leading provider of machine learning fraud and misrepresentation solutions, announced on Wednesday that its Auto Fraud Manager 2.0 and DealerTrace 2.0 solutions are immediately available for production use by all defi SOLUTIONS customers.

“PointPredictive is one of our newest and most innovative AI technology partners. We’re excited to offer our lenders seamless access to these forward-thinking fraud and misrepresentation solutions through the defi LOS platform,” said Stephanie Alsbrooks, chief executive officer of defi SOLUTIONS. “This is yet another great example of the power of community.”

PointPredictive offers a suite of artificial intelligence (AI) predictive scoring solutions that can identify the presence of material misrepresentation and fraud within auto financing applications and dealer processes. The company insisted this predictive technology has been shown to streamline real-time auto financing decisions, while reducing finance company losses by 50 percent or more in fraud and first and early payment defaults due to material misrepresentation.

The defi SOLUTIONS platform of services can offer finance companies the flexibility and freedom to leverage leading-edge technologies to optimize decisioning efforts.

Officials added defi SOLUTIONS’ auto finance customers have been invited to participate in a limited-time, no-risk, production pilot of these two PointPredictive solutions.

“This initial offering through our partnership with defi SOLUTIONS allows us to deliver a real-time, actionable fraud and misrepresentation score for each auto loan application from nearly 100 auto lenders processing through defi SOLUTIONS — the fastest growing auto origination platform in the U.S.,” PointPredictive chief executive officer Tim Grace said.

 “Our research indicates that fraud and misrepresentation in the auto lending industry is a $6 billion annual problem,” Grace continued. “We are excited to be able to help all defi SOLUTIONS customers make a substantial dent in their portion of that number.”

Grace went on to reiterate that defi SOLUTIONS customers will have real-time access to Auto Fraud Manager 2.0 and DealerTrace 2.0, that can increase fraud detection by leveraging enhanced predictive algorithms that evaluate the entire loan application, as well as recent activity from dealers. This strategy can enable finance companies to screen for, and detect, all types of fraud, including identity, employment, income, collateral and dealer risk.

In numerous customer evaluations, PointPredictive insisted that Auto Fraud Manager consistently identified more than 50 percent of fraud, first payment defaults and misrepresentation-related early payment defaults within the riskiest 7 to 10 percent of all applications, when rank-ordered by the Auto Fraud Manager score.

For further information on receiving Auto Fraud Manager through defi LOS, contact PointPredictive at info@pointpredictive.com or Patty Jefferson at pjefferson@defisolutions.com.

TransUnion examines trio of trends involving refinancing

Here is some new TransUnion data that could help managers within finance company underwriting departments when looking at an application attached to a vehicle that just rolled over the curb.

According to the recent TransUnion study of 1.5 million refinanced installment contracts originated in 2013 and 2014, there is a spike in refinance activity within a few days of an initial delivery.

“We found that some consumers, especially those interested in taking advantage of loyalty programs and bundled options, will refinance their loans a day or two after the original purchase,” said Brian Landau, senior vice president and automotive business leader at TransUnion.

In a phone conversation with SubPrime Auto Finance News, Landau explained that consumers seeking to refinance typically fall into three categories. There are individuals seeking a lower monthly payment. Oftentimes, these contract holders fall within the near-prime and subprime spaces, according to Landau.

Other consumers are loyal and want their installment contract with their personal finance institution rather than the provider that bought the contract at the dealership. Furthermore, Landau mentioned consumers who are looking to be aggressive, seeking refinancing to pay off their balance quicker and avoid interest.

What might be especially positive for those subprime customers, the TransUnion study indicated that the cash flow benefits from refinancing can be compelling. The average decrease in auto debt service — for those specifically seeking a payment reduction — was $52 per month. The average refinancing consumer achieved an APR reduction of 2.4 percent.

“In an increasingly competitive auto finance market, there is a lot of potential for auto lenders to tap into refinancing as a way to grow their business,” Landau said. “But market education is key.

“Nearly two-thirds of auto finance companies offer refinancing, but according to a recent Harris poll, less than half of consumers are aware they may use this option as part of their overall financing strategy. Broader recognition of this option can benefit both consumers and lenders seeking new business,” Landau continued.

Refinancing is quite prevalent in the mortgage space. Landau told SubPrime Auto Finance News why.

“With a mortgage you’re talking about a very large purchase with a very long term; a 30-year, standard fixed loan. With that, the consumer can become very sensitive to rate changes,” Landau said. “You’re looking for any advantage you can, especially given the collateral. Refinancing mortgages just makes a lot of sense because you can save a significant amount of money. Because of the term, the amount of money and the sensitivity to rate, refinancing has been top of mind for consumers and lenders that provide it.

TransUnion estimated that close to half of institutions (47 percent) that provide auto finance also have a refinance option. That prompted Landau and the TransUnion team to ask, “Why hasn’t it taken off in auto even though many lenders offer it?”

When asked for an answer, Landau replied, “It has to do with a shorter term and people not realizing they can refinance the loan even though they might only be in it for three or four years. Also, they look at it as a depreciating asset with a sunk cost.

“There could be some mental hoops that consumers have to get over to say, ‘There are some opportunities here to save a little bit of money to use elsewhere.’ The lending community also has to do a better job of getting the word out there that auto refinance could be a way to help them manage their monthly cash flows,” he went on to say.

And since auto refinancing happens during the early portion of the term, Landau pointed out that refinance contracts oftentimes perform much better with lower delinquencies.

“It’s a little bit of selection and the lenders being risk averse. Their ability to identify consumers who have the ability to make good on their loan, they can do this through the use of credit data and alternative data,” Landau said.

“What it shows is some lenders are taking advantage of the opportunity because everyone is concerned about early payment default. But once you get past that red zone, the first couple of months, you’re past that risk zone, and you know the consumer is going to make good on that purchase going forward,” he added.

And with summertime beginning to wind down in many places, TransUnion is thinking finance activity could heat up, especially in the refinancing arena.

“The end of summer is generally a key time for the auto industry, as better weather means more consumers are shopping for vehicles. It’s also a time of year when some consumers can find a deal before automakers roll out new models in the fall. This year, the prospect of rising automotive tariffs has also made it a hot time to buy,” Landau said.

“TransUnion found that a number of consumers are taking advantage of the opportunity to refinance their new purchases, despite the rising interest rate environment,” he continued. “Consumers who might be paying a somewhat higher interest rate on the loans they obtained through the dealership may find that refinancing can lower those interest rates or extend the loan term — in other words, help those same consumers manage their monthly cash flows.”

TransUnion plans to discuss more of its research and data during a webinar beginning at 2 p.m. ET on Aug. 23. Registration for the session can be completed here.

RideShare Knight details 7 coverage plans for ride-sharing vehicles

After initially launching this spring, RideShare Knight offered more details about its vehicle service contract for Uber and Lyft drivers working in the ride-sharing economy today, launching a total of seven coverage plans.

Including multiple tiered plan options within each new coverage package, RideShare Knight explained that it is working to develop as many levels of protection as possible for the millions of independent drivers in the ride-sharing economy today.

“Right now, there are millions of individuals making a living as a ride-sharing driver, with no extended warranty for their vehicle,” said Max Zanan, founder and chief executive officer of RideShare Knight.

“While on the job, if they have a mechanical breakdown, Uber and Lyft are not liable for damages, instead making the driver absorb the cost of repairs. We now have plans for vehicles with up to 150,000 miles,” Zanan continued.

Complete extended warranties are available for current model year vehicles plus four years with up to 60,000 miles. The complete tier has three levels of coverage: platinum, gold and silver.

Flex extended warranties are available for any model year vehicles with 60,000 to 150,000 miles. The flex plan tier has four levels of coverage: preferred, select, powertrain plus and powertrain.

RideShare Knight claims that it is the first Uber extended warranty and Lyft extended warranty of its kind, providing independent drivers with the coverage they need to be protected on the road. By working with RideShare Knight coverage, these drivers now receive 24-hour roadside assistance, nationwide coverage, accessibility to all licensed mechanics, 0 percent APR financing and transferrable options to new vehicle owners.

“We want to ensure ride-sharing drivers are equipped against costly repairs with our variety of coverage plans today,” Zanan said. “We also want to expand vehicle eligibility to provide coverage to as many drivers as possible.”

For more information, visit rideshareknight.com.

Moxy Solutions and Redshield join F&I Express

Moxy Solutions, a tool designed to streamline the sales and deal-closing process, joined the F&I Express platform this week.

The company added that this integration will also add aftermarket provider, Red Shield, to the F&I Express network of more than 160 providers.

IMOXY can provide an easy way to monitor transactions, view rate programs and identify any special rules or guidelines from various administrators

Red Shield offers protection plans and other products to cars, RVs and motorcycles.

“F&I Express integration sets the stage for expanding our IMOXY web and mobile portal to agents, VSC/aftermarket administrators and financial entities at an accelerated rate,” said JJ Demma, managing partner at Moxy Solutions.

F&I Express chief executive officer and president Brian Reed added, “One of our core values at F&I Express is relationship building. We look forward to the opportunity to expand our network by adding Moxy Solutions and Red Shield to the platform.”

Analyzing why private equity wants back in non-prime market

The market fundamentals in non-prime are signaling positive. A strong economy and low unemployment are contributing to stabilization in consumer credit scores. Auto defaults are at the lowest point with one full quarter of improvements under the belt.

There continue to be new auto bond issuances, and the spreads on these lowest-rated of these securities are tightening. Competition in the secondary market for non-prime portfolios is high, thanks to the portfolio quality of the underlying assets holding up.

By many measures beyond just these, the non-prime market is showing signs of a change in trend from bear to bull. Whereas private equity (PE) interest was ice cold, things are starting to thaw. Now PE wants back in. But, why now, and why do they want back in?

Let’s take a walk down memory lane

Competition for deals amongst private equity firms for unsecured lending opportunities for the past few years has grown more and more intense. In the prior market cycle just following the Great Recession, Private Equity had excess un-deployed capital that was intended for residential real estate. They pivoted their focus to high-yield, non-prime auto loans.

But, private equity returns in non-prime auto weren’t there. And, the exit wasn’t there either. So, they took their lumps and pivoted again, this time to unsecured assets like financing elective surgery and jewelry purchases. They also pivoted their focus to fintech, placing bets on disruption, and that big banks will adopt this tech. To private equity, fintech offers an exit path more like that of the subprime bureaus, where each major bureau has acquired at least one of these “big data / alternative bureau” providers.

The private equity bets on unsecured, and fintech have been good ones. So, why do they want back in on auto?

This time it will be different 

The disruptive nature of fintech is the reason is why. Fintech is completely restructuring how consumers and auto finance companies engage. Fintech has commoditized the application process, the process to evaluate risk, and how customers are serviced. Whereas in the prior market cycle, PE would take equity position in a “soup to nuts” non-prime operations, now they are focusing more on the assets and balance sheet financing. The value of the traditional auto finance company has been morphed from one that has a superior scorecard, or collection process, PE knows that Fintech has largely outsourced and commoditized what were strategic assets. Why build your own custom loan origination or loan servicing system when myriad outsourced options exist? And, why re-invent the wheel? One must look no further than what Uber did to the value of a NY Taxi medallion, and you will see what they are seeing.

The “Amazonification” of financial services businesses is what fintech is all about.

Let’s hear it directly from the source

And who better to hear it from than from the PE folks themselves? Some recent conversations with PE firms and the investment bankers that work directly with them provide us some valuable insight as to why this next cycle will be different. It will be different because of their shift to unsecured options for higher yield (as a suitable replacement to auto), but more importantly due to Fintech disruption. What constitutes itself as an asset of a financial services company is different than just a few years ago. Heck, what comprises what we now call a financial services company is different than a few years back.

Let’s look at the top three themes from these conversations:

1. Balance sheet

PE interest is squarely on the balance sheet and resulting deal structures will continue to show it. Larger PE firms are looking to be a senior secured lender, with capital deployments north of $40 million — directly into collateral.

Loan originators that could use more balance sheet to originate more can benefit from PE investment. And, they can also be effective as a capital bridge to securitizations — as discussed before, a very healthy and stable market.

2. Fintech

Fintech firms trade on a multiple of revenues, while finance companies trade on a multiple of earnings. And, a good fintech solution done right can provide value to small finance companies and big banks, which provides a lot of click revenue. So, this is just a case of investing money into something that will return more money.

Not to be discounted is the actual value of the fintech being created and made available to the non-prime finance community. Take for example a small, regional finance company that just 10 years ago would be operating on spreadsheets and a small IT footprint. That same company can operate in a cost-efficient, cloud-based environment, and utilize AI-based solutions that root out fraud, improve credit selection, drive behavioral scoring — all on subscription or a per-click basis. 

3. Confidence in outsourced servicers

Without confidence in outsourced servicers, PE would not be diving back into the non-prime asset class. The market for secondary whole loan trades has been hot and is not cooling down thanks to increasing interest from PE investors. And, that confidence is bolstered by a few key points:

• Outsourced servicers are complex; many are servicers of their own debt that rent out their additional capacity, and the result is a more stable place to park your portfolio

• Outsourced incentives are changing; we are hearing more and more about servicers putting “skin” in the game and taking compensation that is tied to targets shared with the portfolio owner

• What makes an outsourced servicer is less about geography, and more about supplementing specific skill sets, and this is providing cost savings while improving portfolio performance

• Outsourced servicers can deploy technology, training, and analytics in ways that benefit multiple companies in much the same way that Fintech can disrupt

• A more sympathetic Consumer Financial Protection Bureau changes the outlook as well

The PE firms interviewed agreed that their confidence in outsourced servicers is an enabler to giving them the confidence to get more aggressive on deploying their capital into auto assets and knowing that the results will be on target.

The democratization of auto finance

The retail car sales process is not what it used to be. You can find your car online and pick it up from a vending machine. Or, you can use your car as a taxi. Or, you can subscribe to a car service. Or, you can just rent a bike or a scooter. It is no longer about “car ownership.” It’s about mobility. The disruption of the retail car model and the democratization of mobility is in full swing.

The democratization of auto finance is just getting started. And increased PE interest has a track record of begetting more PE interest. Last time around, PE took some lumps along with the finance companies that they invested in. There were no winners. This time around the game board is set up a bit differently. Finance companies will win this time around if they can effectively utilize PE capital in its updated format. Fintech companies will continue to win, as the early cloud-based, and big-data companies already have. Finally, outsourced servicers will win by becoming a more mainstream and standard option that will see increasing demand as more and more PE firms choose to engage them.

Joel Kennedy is a director with Spinnaker Consulting Group. He has a passion for growing and improving auto finance ecosystem. He has more than 23 years of experience helping big banks down to start-up finance companies to build, grow, improve, and repeat. He can be reached at (240) 308-2169 or joel.kennedy@spinnakerconsultinggroup.com.

APRs continue to rise as Fed passes on rate-hike chance

As down payments and the amount financed for new- and used-vehicle deliveries at franchised dealerships stay on a steady pace, Edmunds noticed the impact of the Federal Reserve pushing interest rates higher are starting to leave a mark on APRs.

Analysts noticed the annual percentage rate (APR) on financed new vehicles averaged 5.74 percent in July compared to 4.77 percent in July of last year, representing the largest year-over-year jump that Edmunds has seen so far in 2018.

While not quite as dramatic as the nearly 1 percentage point rise for new vehicles, APRs for financed used vehicles rose noticeably in July, too, as Edmunds saw the metric moved from 7.46 percent to 8.31 percent.

Edmunds analysts point to the scarcity of zero percent finance deals as the driving force behind interest rates sustaining near-record average highs in July.

Analysts indicated zero percent finance deals were slower to materialize for car shoppers in July as zero percent finance deals accounted for 6.92 percent of sales in July, compared to 11.34 percent in July 2017 and 11.18 percent in July 2013. Edmunds noted that this is the lowest share of zero percent finance deals seen in July since 2005.

“Zero percent finance deals typically peak in summer months as a tried-and-true automaker method of spurring outgoing model-year vehicle sales, so this appears to mark the end of a fairly long-lived tradition for the industry,” said Jeremy Acevedo, Edmunds’ manager of industry analysis. “While inventory isn't at the alarming level it was at this stage last year, how automakers navigate their model-year sell down will be critical through the rest of the year as the market contracts and prices continue to rise.

“Interest rates might be down slightly month-over-month, but they're still hovering near a nine-year high,” Acevedo continued. “With more Fed rate hikes ahead, it's not likely that APRs will be going down anytime soon.”

The Fed passed on its chance this week to adjust rates as the Federal Open Market Committee decided unanimously to maintain the target range for the federal funds rate at 1.75 to 2 percent.

“The stance of monetary policy remains accommodative, thereby supporting strong labor market conditions and a sustained return to 2-percent inflation,” the Fed said in its policy statement released on Wednesday.

The next time the Fed can modify interest rates comes on Sept. 26 with two more opportunities available in November and December.

No matter what the federal policymakers might do, it appears automakers are being more judicious with how much cash they’re slapping on hoods of new models.

“Incentives spending in July was relatively restrained as dealer inventory appears to be at a comfortable level; a sign automakers are managing production well in the post-peak era,” said Brad Korner, general manager for Cox Automotive Rates and Incentives.

“Regional incentives are still being used by OEMs where market share battles are heaviest,” Korner continued. “This use of regional, VIN-specific, conditional offers are smart, strategic investments by OEMS to apply incentives as necessary, protecting margins on the remainder of the transactions. New 2019 models in popular vehicle segments are selling with little or no cash offers.” 

Meanwhile, finance companies kept down payments and the total amount financed on a steady track in July.

Edmunds indicated down payments for new-vehicle deliveries came in at $3,970 in July. That’s down $25 from the previous month but up $349 from a year ago.

Analysts added that down payments for financed used models stood at $2,582 in July. While that’s off by $30 on a sequential basis, the amount is $114 higher than a year earlier.

As far as the total amount financed per delivery in July, Edmunds pinpointed the amount at $30,903 for new cars and at $21,574. Those figures are $214 and $293 higher year-over-year, respectively.

KAR taps former captive exec to oversee Preferred Warranties

KAR Auction Services on Wednesday elevated one of its executives with significant captive finance company experience to lead its division that offers vehicle service contracts.

KAR announced Edmund Field has been named president of the company’s Preferred Warranties business unit. PWI serves independent dealers and smaller franchised stores as well as powersports dealers — offering extended service contract protection plans for pre-owned units. 

The company indicated Field will be responsible for leading PWI’s operations and digital and mobile product development and advancing its market growth strategies. He will be based at KAR’s global headquarters in Carmel, Ind.  

“Edmund joins PWI at a time of great opportunity, as the company nears the completion of our nationwide expansion by the end of the year,” said Paul Kramarz, senior vice president of risk at KAR business unit, AFC.

“Edmund’s extensive experience and leadership skills will be instrumental in PWI aligning with KAR strategic initiatives and achieving a leading position within the industry,” Kramarz continued.

With more than 20 years of automotive industry experience, Field joined KAR earlier this year as the director of new product development. Before coming to KAR, Field was at Volkswagen Group and VW Credit. He supported the areas of insurance, sales and business development, new product development, contact center operations, fleet management and manufacturing.

During his time at VW Credit, Field was responsible for the development and launch of Volkswagen Financial Protection Services as a start-up insurance entity selling and administering a full suite of insurance protection products to Audi, VW and Ducati dealers in the U.S. market.

Field also held several management roles at VCI’s customer service center in Libertyville, Ill.