TD Auto Finance is looking to boost its used-car volume, amid instability in the new-vehicle market, President and Chief Executive Andrew Stuart told Auto Finance News.
“I would say that the concern is that the available market we’re playing in is pretty choppy,” he said. “You go from a SAAR in June showing 16.6 million units to a July SAAR of 17.8 million — that’s a pretty dramatic swing.”
Though TD Auto’s portfolio was split 60-40 in favor of new cars, the bank has started to shift its focus to the “much larger” used market, Stuart said. “We feel like there’s an opportunity there to shift our mix more toward a 50-50 mix, or maybe even a 40-60 mix of new to used,” he said.
The industry has enjoyed year-over-year gains for the past six years, but it’s a cyclical business. “We’ve seen these kinds of cycles in the past, and you start to get to a point where you’re reaching a peak,” he added. “And a high 17-million [SAAR] in the U.S. really feels like we’re at a peak.” Last year, 38.3 million used vehicles were sold, the highest volume in eight years, according to Edmunds.com.
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