FCA Proposed Merger With Renault Could Lead to Captive Discussions

Fiat Chrysler Automobiles’ merger proposal to Groupe Renault is likely to lead to discussions of creating a captive finance arm to “support the level of volume the new organization could attain,” Zohaib Rahim, manager of economics and industry insights at Cox Automotive, told Auto Finance News. “Last year, [former FCA Chief Executive] Sergio Marchionne mentioned […]

• Nicole Casperson
• May 28, 2019
• Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy, Technology

Sparking Connections: How Tech Alliances Are Firing Up Lenders

Slowing vehicle sales and the potential for a market downturn have lit a spark among lenders, technology companies, and OEMs, igniting partnerships aimed at gaining marketshare and creating solutions attainable only by way of collaboration. In January, Ford Motor Co. and Volkswagen AG established an alliance that will likely spur the OEMs’ captives to collaborate […]

• Nicole Casperson and Joey Pizzolato
• May 22, 2019
• Features, Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy, Technology

Tesla Plans to Use Model 3 Lease Program to Stock Ride-Hailing Fleet

Tesla has launched a leasing offer for its $35,000 Model 3 electric sedan — without the standard option that allows consumers to purchase their vehicles at the end of the term. “With full autonomy coming in the future via an over-the-air software update, we plan to use those vehicles in the Tesla ride-hailing network," the […]

• Nicole Casperson
• April 26, 2019
• Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy, Technology, Update

BMW Financial Launches Lease Product Geared Toward Mobility

BMW’s Financial Services USA will launch a new product this month — called Car & Ride Sharing Lease — aimed at accommodating the rideshare and carshare landscape, the company announced yesterday. Car & Ride Sharing Lease will be available to customers in Washington, California, and Oregon, and will explicitly allow customers to rent out his or her […]

• Emma Sandler
• January 30, 2018
• All Posts, Innovation & Mobility, Operations

Startup Fair Poised to Buy Uber’s Subprime Leasing Unit

Startup Fair plans to purchase Uber Technologies Inc.’s U.S. subprime unit Xchange Leasing, according to a published report. The net book value of Xchange Leasing’s more than 30,000 vehicles was roughly $400 million, The Wall Street Journal reported Tuesday. Fair — which offers a used-car, no-commitment leasing app — is expected to give jobs to about […]

• Natalie Mattila
• December 26, 2017
• All Posts, Operations, Strategy

BMW’s 3Q Originations Fall, but Full-Year Performance Remains Strong

While BMW Financial Services’ originations were down for the third quarter, full-year volume remains up, according to the company’s third-quarter earnings on Tuesday. Globally, 435,026 new contracts with retail customers were made in the third quarter, a decline of 7% year over year. However, the first nine-month period saw a year-over-year increase of 2% to […]

• Emma Sandler
• November 9, 2017
• All Posts, Archives, Asia, Capital Markets

BMW Sees US Market Sales Decline in 3Q Earnings

BMW Motorrad saw the US market contract by 5.7% according to its 3Q earnings yesterday. However, worldwide, BMW Motorrad delivered 39,429 motorcycles globally to its customers during the quarter, a YoY increase of 11.7%. The total for the first nine months increased by 10.1% to 127,818 units. However, the downward trend seen in the U.S. over […]

• Emma Sandler
• November 8, 2017
• All Posts, Capital Markets

10 VC Firms Investing in the Mobility of the Future

Behind every startup funding round there’s an eager venture capital firm waiting for its investment to mature. By some accounts, the mobility industry will be worth $3 trillion dollars across the various connected, shared, autonomous vehicle space as it continues to evolve and grow. With that in mind, Auto Finance News rounded up the top […]

• Emma Sandler
• October 2, 2017
• All Posts, Features, Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy, Technology