USAA Bank Tees Up Subscription Services at Auto Experience Lab

USAA Bank’s Auto Experience Lab is working to enter the subscription service market, but even after seven years of development, rollout for that service is still “under the queue of projects to complete,” James Spears, assistant vice president at USAA Auto Experience, told Auto Finance News. Much of the work in the lab is dedicated […]

• Monica Melton
• December 24, 2018
• Innovation & Mobility, Strategy

Lease Demand for Tesla Model 3 Beats BMW, Mercedes

Consumers seek leases on Teslas 26% more often than on Mercedes-Benz vehicles and 20% more frequently than on BMWs, Scot Hall, executive vice president of operations at car lease transfer marketplace Swapalease.com, told Auto Finance News. Currently, Tesla offers leasing options on its Model X and Model S variants but not on the lower-priced Model […]

• Nicole Casperson
• November 7, 2018
• Sales & Marketing

At the Big 4, Incentive Spending Drops, Even as Sales Dip

Old truisms apparently do not apply to auto finance. At least for now. When car sales fall, generally captives counter with greater subvention. But after years of incentives marching higher, incentives are dipping. At the Big Four — Ford, General Motors, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles, and Toyota — the aggregate incentive per unit fell 1.9% to $4,150, […]

• JJ Hornblass
• October 25, 2018
• Credit Performance, Risk, Sales & Marketing, Strategy

Rise of Speculative-Grade Auto ABS Causes Concern, S&P Says

The level of speculative-grade ABS outstandings is six times greater this year than it was in the lead up to the Great Recession in 2006, according to Amy Martin, S&P Global Ratings’ sector lead in U.S. auto ABS. It’s a stat that highlights why “caution is warranted,” in subprime deals today, she said during a […]

• Auto Finance News
• October 4, 2018
• Capital Markets, Risk

FCA Jumps into Subscription Market With Jeep, Mercedes-Benz Reveals Pricing

On the heels of announcing plans to form its own U.S. captive, Fiat Chrysler Automobiles will launch a subscription program called Jeep Wave — a membership program offering drivers the ability to switch between vehicles for a single monthly fee. Making its debut in 2019, Jeep’s program will offer vehicles in “good, better, and best” tiers, […]

• Nicole Casperson
• June 6, 2018
• Operations, Strategy

Daimler Financial Grew Portfolio 6% in 2017 Amid Mobility Push

Daimler Financial Services grew its portfolio 6% year over year to $174.6 billion USD (139.9 billion Euro) in 2017, amid the company’s strong push into mobility services, according to the company’s fourth-quarter earnings released today. The captive originated 1.9 million new financing and leasing contracts in 2017, a 14% year-over-year increase from the year prior. […]

• Emma Sandler
• February 1, 2018
• Asia, Earnings, Innovation & Mobility, Technology

Daimler Financial Targets Boost in Mobility Presence With New Execs

Daimler Financial Services — which operates Daimler AG’s mobility services — is expanding its mobility ambitions with a joint venture investment and two new executive positions. Daimler Mobility Services and Mercedes-Benz Vans are forming a joint venture with New York City-based startup Via, along with a $50 million dollar investment from Mercedes-Benz Vans. The joint venture […]

• Emma Sandler
• September 5, 2017
• Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy, Technology

Daimler AG Strategizes Splitting up Mercedes Divisions

Daimler AG is working on a corporate holding structure that could see Mercedes-Benz Financial Services broken out into a separate entity before the company’s annual general meeting on April 5, 2019, according to a new interview with chief executive Dieter Zetsche and chief financial officer Bodo Uebber. In the interview — from German business magazine […]

• Emma Sandler
• September 1, 2017
• Innovation & Mobility, Operations, Strategy