Deadline Nears for AFN DEMOvation Challenge Submissions

With the deadline looming, now’s the time for startups to apply for a limited number of innovation demos during Auto Finance Innovation Summit 2019, which is slated for May 14-15 at the Omni San Diego. Auto Finance News is holding a DEMOvation Challenge in advance of Auto Finance Innovation Summit 2019 to determine which startups will […]

• Bianca Chan
• March 27, 2019
• Innovation & Mobility, Technology

Executives to Discuss IT Challenges at Auto Finance Innovation Summit

Three distinguished executives from U.S. Bank, CarFinance.com, and Tricolor Auto Group are set to discuss the challenges of information technology at the 4th annual Auto Finance Innovation Summit during a session entitled “Solving Your Biggest Information Technology Challenges.” The discussion will take place on Tuesday, May 14, at 9:45 a.m. PT at the Omni San […]

• Nicole Casperson
• March 13, 2019
• Innovation & Mobility, Strategy, Technology

5 Innovative Auto Finance Moves of 2018

A number of auto finance companies rolled out products and services in 2018 that the editors of Auto Finance News found noteworthy, among them: Honcker Adds Insurance to List of App Services Mobile car buying app Honcker added insurance to its platform this year, bringing the company closer to making the entire car buying experience […]

• Monica Melton
• December 31, 2018
• Innovation & Mobility, Sales & Marketing, Strategy, Technology

AutoNation Leads $146M Funding Round In Vroom

New- and used-car dealership chain AutoNation is the lead investor in Vroom’s $146 million series G funding, announced today. Other investors were T. Rowe Price, L Catterton, General Catalyst, and Fraser McCombs Capital. In October, AutoNation had pumped $50 million into Vroom in exchange for a 7% stake. Vroom CEO Paul Hennessy told Auto Finance […]

• Monica Melton
• December 11, 2018
• Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy, Technology

SunTrust to Add Functionality to Consumer ‘Smart-Portal’ Tool

SunTrust Bank plans to increase functionality and services offered through its consumer-facing “Smart Portal” web tool in the coming three to six months, said Chuck Jones, the bank’s head of national indirect lending. The online service, which took about six months to build, went live in the second quarter. “The portal is an introductory site showing […]

• Monica Melton
• November 29, 2018
• Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy, Technology

Electric Vehicle OEM Offers Drive Motors’ Digital Financing

Electric vehicle startup Karma Automotive has synced up with digital sales platform Drive Motors to power its online checkout option for consumers. Drive Motors, which counts Ally Financial Inc. as a preferred lender on its platform, enables consumers to get fully approved for loans in less than a minute, Chief Executive Aaron Krane told Auto […]

• Monica Melton
• November 22, 2018
• Innovation & Mobility, Sales & Marketing, Technology

CPS Revamps Dealer Portal for Release in Early 2019

Subprime lender Consumer Portfolio Services is boosting dealer self-service options, with a revamped portal slated to debut early next year. “We’re rebuilding the dealer portal, so the dealer can go in and play around with the [loan] structure until he gets one that he likes, and we accept, without having to call a buyer and […]

• Monica Melton
• November 21, 2018
• Operations, Sales & Marketing, Technology

Dealertrack Looks to Speed Car Buying Process

Dealertrack, with the launch last week of its uniFI dealership management and F&I software product, is looking to streamline dealer workflows and shorten the amount of time it takes to buy a car. A Cox Automotive study published in July found that dealership personnel uses an average of six platforms to complete a deal and […]

• Monica Melton
• November 9, 2018
• Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Sales & Marketing, Strategy, Technology