Tag: Hyundai

Categories
Dealership Training F&I

A Revolution is Coming

Contributing Author: John Stephens Executive Vice President EFG Companies
Contributing Author:
John Stephens
Executive Vice President
EFG Companies

Can you remember the last time you walked into a fast food restaurant and they filled your drink order? It was a short few years ago when the restaurants started handing you a cup and you dispensed the ice and your drink of choice.  The shift happened as consumers demanded a better, quicker experience.  Now, order kiosks are being introduced to eliminate further wait time.

While established dealership vendors have built iPad and Docupad platforms to improve the overall customer experience in the transition to F&I, this segment of F&I technology is about to burst with robust competitive offers. Startups are now beginning to appear on the scene with full online financing capabilities. In addition, manufacturers are now investing in online financing technology.

In December of last year, AutoNation launched its first online financing offering, allowing customers to value a trade-in vehicle, determine payments and apply for credit.

In June, CarMax, Inc., the biggest U.S. used car dealer, announced the rollout of a new online financing initiative to help customers pre-qualify for financing before entering the dealership.

In October, Automotive News reported on a dealership in California that was using Express Storefront, an online-buying platform from Roadster that allows shoppers to select a vehicle, get approved for credit, sift through F&I options, and set up vehicle delivery.

Even Equifax is dipping their toe in the online financing product market. This past month, John Giamalvo, the vice president of dealer services at Equifax, spoke at the National Remarketing Conference, discussing his company’s soft-pull tab that allows customers to get a free credit report without affecting their credit. In his presentation, Giamalvo stated that he sees growing evidence that car shoppers are ready to do more of the financing process online.

Also in November, a partnership between Drive Motors, RouteOne and Dealertrack made headlines with a collaboration that resulted in an online checkout feature for dealership websites. The feature allows customers to structure their deal online before finalizing and taking delivery of the vehicle. This creates a 24/7 sales funnel, where customers submit their information at any time of day or night. The information automatically populates into the dealership’s Dealertrack and RouteOne platforms, saving an enormous amount of time in the store.

Continue reading “A Revolution is Coming”
Categories
Uncategorized

EFG Companies Names Steve Roennau as Vice President of Compliance

Steve Roennau Headshot WebPosition increases focus on boosting dealership profitability through compliance

EFG Companies, the innovator behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, announced today the appointment of Steve Roennau as Vice President of Compliance, reflecting the company’s ongoing mission of driving operational compliance for its retail dealership clients.

Roennau brings a 30-year history of driving bottom-line results in automotive F&I, sales and product management, giving him strategic insight into the compliance hurdles facing both dealers and lenders. His experience includes compliance consulting and training/operational development for Chrysler’s Five Star initiative, Chrysler Capital, Santander Consumer USA, Hyundai, General Motors, Ford, Mitsubishi, Volkswagen, and numerous dealer groups throughout the country. He is an AFIP Senior Certified Professional in Financial Services, and has conducted numerous training courses.

“Today’s dealers are facing a much greater level of compliance oversight, affecting everything from finance margins to advertising practices,” said John Pappanastos, President and CEO of EFG Companies. “Dealers need forward thinking partners who can successfully navigate the myriad of changes on local, state and federal levels. With Steve leading our compliance initiative, we are in a strong position to stay ahead of upcoming changes and proactively prepare our clients. In 2014, EFG’s dealer clients rated compliance as one of EFG’s top three areas of performance. In 2016, we expect Roennau to raise the bar for our clients and the industry.”

“At EFG, we are committed to facilitating the highest levels of operational compliance for our dealer partners,” said Roennau. “Our very progressive work will provide our clients with a sophisticated analysis of their current compliance procedures, and prepare them for upcoming changes that will enhance customer service, compliance alignment and increased profitability.”

Categories
Featured

EFG Companies Names Richard Christensen as New Vice President of Product Development

Richard Christensen
Richard Christensen Vice President of Product Development EFG Companies

OEM and Reinsurance veteran leads the next chapter in the company’s heritage of industry-leading innovation

EFG Companies, the innovator behind the award-winning Hyundai Assurance program, announced today the addition of Richard Christensen as Vice President of Product Development. Christensen offers a wealth of direct experience in initiating and launching corporate strategic initiatives with companies like Hyundai Capital America and Nissan North America. In his previous roles, Christensen has overseen the launch of global strategic alliance formations with product, brand development and rollout, in conjunction with development of sales processes, reinsurance models, and regulatory and compliance practices. This experience will be well utilized as he leads the strategic efforts of EFG’s product development team, including product lifecycle and relationship management.

With over 25 years of retail and wholesale automotive and reinsurance experience, Christensen most recently served as a Senior Director at Hyundai Capital America (HCA), where he was responsible for launching and managing a captive insurance subsidiary of HCA. He also served as President, Nissan Global Reinsurance, Ltd based in Bermuda, and functioned as a Sr. Manager of Vehicle Service Contracts for Nissan North America, in Los Angeles.

“Today’s dealers are under an immense amount of pressure, from undertaking stringent compliance initiatives to incentivizing new consumer groups to enter an automotive market with ever higher entry-level price tags,” said John Pappanastos, President and CEO of EFG Companies. “Dealers need agile partners who are constantly looking ahead to see where the industry is going and to look at new challenges as opportunities to increase dealer profitability. At EFG, we consider ourselves one of those partners. The addition of Rick to our leadership team strengthens our position in leading the industry in terms of product innovation and administration of quality consumer protection products that benefit consumers, dealerships and the industry as a whole.”

“Dealerships and lenders need better ways to connect and retain purchase behavior with a more informed and demanding consumer,” said Christensen. “We’re doing very progressive work that is aligned with our goals of leading the industry in focusing on customer service and consumer benefits, with an eye towards compliance and sales process for the dealers and I’m excited to be a part of it.”