Mercedes-Benz Subscription Program Triggers Finance Opportunities

An expansion of Mercedes-Benz’s subscription service is likely to spur new financing opportunities for the captive, Mercedes-Benz Financial Services USA, Vice President Geoff Robinson told Auto Finance News. “We are seeing subscribers use the program as a stepping stone to financing and leasing,” he said. “There certainly have been more doors opened for us because […]

• Bianca Chan
• June 10, 2019
• Innovation & Mobility

Australian Startup Eyes Foray Into U.S. Market

SAN DIEGO — CarDeals2Me, an Australian startup that provides car buyers with a price quote that expires within 24 hours, is looking to enter the American market — once it secures a lender partner. “We’re grazing around to hit the U.S. market,” said Chief Executive Shaun Sumaru during the Auto Finance Innovation Summit here today. […]

• Bianca Chan
• May 15, 2019
• Auto Finance Accelerate 2019, Innovation & Mobility, Sales & Marketing, Technology

Trump Wants European Autos BMW, Mercedes to Be Made in America

President Trump has given European auto manufacturers a way to avoid an escalation of the trade war, saying they can avoid tariffs on cars if they build more plants in the U.S. “They have BMW, they have Mercedes, they have a lot of very good cars that come in,” he said in an interview with […]

• Bloomberg News
• March 22, 2019
• Operations, Strategy

Fair’s Georg Bauer Joins Auto Finance Innovation Summit for Fireside Chat

Auto Finance News will host Fair’s Co-Founder and President Georg Bauer at the 4th annual Auto Finance Innovation Summit for a fireside chat on Wednesday, May 15, at 9:05 a.m. PT. The event will take place at the Omni San Diego on May 14-15, directly following the Auto Finance Sales & Marketing Summit. Check out […]

• Nicole Casperson
• March 6, 2019
• Innovation & Mobility, Technology

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