Chase Auto has added electric vehicle (EV) manufacturer Fisker Automotive to its private-label financing portfolio.
The New York-based auto lender — which had a $86.2 billion portfolio as of yearend 2021 — will power Fisker Financial Services, Chief Executive Peter Muriungi told Auto Finance News. Chase also has private-label partnerships with Rivian Automotive, along with traditional OEMs such as Subaru, Jaguar Land Rover, Maserati, Aston Martin and McLaren.
Chase’s private-label financing business has long been part of the lender’s strategy focused on diversified revenue streams, Muriungi said.
“Our strategy is we have a diversified revenue stream that has a private-label business, and indirect business and a digitized business,” he told AFN. “We are continuing to build capabilities to provide even better private-label service for existing manufacturers who are producing both electric and [internal combustion engine] vehicles and are using the franchise distribution model to distribute both [those vehicles] and make it more convenient for consumers to walk away with those models.”
The lender is in talks with other EV manufacturers to be their private-label provider, Muriungi said, but did not provide specific manufacturers.
Chase Auto will act as Fisker’s private-label partner in the U.S., while Santander will serve as the OEM’s banking partner in Europe, Fisker Chief Financial Officer and Chief Operating Officer Geeta Gupta-Fisker said during the company’s Q4 earnings call.
The question of how consumers will finance purchases from new EV manufacturers has been front and center in the industry since new EV manufacturers began announcing direct-to-consumer sales. Currently, Lucid Motors has a preferred financing relationship with Bank of America; Polestar’s captive is powered by Volvo Car Financial Services, and Rivian partners with Chase Auto.
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