Joey Pizzolato

Wells Fargo joins Dealertrack’s integrated contracting platform

Wells Fargo is the latest auto lender to join Dealertrack’s newly lauched Digital Contracting on uniFI, Emil Banga, assistant vice president of F&I dealer operations at Cox Automotive, told Auto Finance News. Digital Contracting on its uniFI platform launched on Tuesday with a slew functionality to make the contracting experience a “one deal jacket” for […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• October 16, 2019
• Customer Experience, Exclusive, Innovation & Technology

Daimler, Hyundai ramp up mobility projects in Korea

Mercedes-Benz and Hyundai are setting their sights on Korea for expanded mobility solutions, the two companies announced separately this week. Daimler Mobility AG — which, like Mercedes-Benz, is a subsidiary of Daimler AG — is expanding its footprint with the creation of Mercedes-Benz Mobility Korea (MBMK). Long-time Daimler executive Guillaume Fritz was appointed managing director […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• October 15, 2019
• Innovation & Technology, Sales & Marketing

PenFed, Wells Fargo charity efforts aid vets

Two auto lenders are honoring armed service veterans in their latest community service campaigns, according to separate releases by Pentagon Federal Credit Union and Wells Fargo last week. PenFed served as the sponsor of the inaugural 2019 San Antonio Business Journal Veterans in Business Award, which honors 12 veterans in business and two veteran-owned companies […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• October 14, 2019
• Auto Finance Excellence, Customer Experience, Sales & Marketing

Mobility rideshare app expands Texas footprint

Hitch, an Austin, Texas-based mobility startup, has expanded its service to include a route from Austin to Dallas, the company announced. The peer-to-peer service, which connects riders with drivers that are traveling long distances between major cities, launched its inaugural Austin-to-Houston route earlier this year. The platform is structured as a homage to traditional hitchhiking. […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• October 11, 2019
• Innovation & Technology

Toyota Mobility to buy UK fleet management company

Inchcape Plc has agreed to sell its U.K.-based fleet leasing business, Inchcape Fleet Solutions (IFS), to Toyota Fleet Mobility for £100 million ($123 million) in cash. Toyota is IFS’s oldest OEM partner. The deal is set to close by year end. IFS operates as a franchisee for BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Volkswagen, Porsche, Toyota and Lexus. The […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• October 10, 2019
• Leasing, Sales & Marketing

Nova Scotia auto dealer fined for preying on ‘vulnerable’ consumers

Michael David Surette, a Dartmouth, Nova Scotia-based auto dealer who formally worked at Used Car Factory 21, has been sentenced to 44 months in prison and ordered to pay $38,841 in restitution for a fraud scheme spanning two-and-a-half years, according to provincial court filings. Surette pled guilty to 14 counts of auto fraud, in which […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• October 8, 2019
• Risk Management

Used-vehicle values slouch in September

The Manheim Used-Vehicle Value Index fell 1.04% month over month in September to 139.9, mostly due to lower-than-average depreciation during the summer, said Jonathan Smoke, chief economist at Cox Automotive. Compared to the same prior-year period, the index was flat. “September officially ended an incredible run on used-vehicle values, like the way the abnormal heat […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• October 7, 2019
• Sales & Marketing

CBA urges CFPB to exempt lenders from FDCPA

The Consumer Bankers Association has become the latest financial organization to submit formal comments to the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau regarding the Fair Debt Collection Practices Act. In the letter, the trade group urges the CFPB to add language that explicitly exempts creditors and first-party servicers from the bureau’s final ruling. “Although the [notice of […]

• Joey Pizzolato
• October 4, 2019
• Compliance & Regulation