Categories
Business Growth Economy

Maintaining Market Share Gains

Credit union auto lenders received an early holiday gift in the form of Experian’s State of the Automotive Finance Market Report: Q2 2022. According to the quarterly report, credit unions’ auto lending market share increased to 25.81 percent, from 18.32 percent in Q2 2021. In comparison, captives decreased to 22.64 percent this quarter, from 28.47 percent the previous year. This was the highest increase of total market share credit unions have ever experienced. Whoop!

What prompted this exceptional gain? While captive lenders beat a hasty retreat from incentives, credit unions stayed flexible, offering lower interest rates to consumers seeking the best auto financing deal they could find. In Q2 2022, credit unions’ new vehicle market share increased to 26.69 percent, from 15.27 percent in Q2 2021, and grew used market share from 23.49 percent to 28.62 percent year-over-year.

Is this positive trend an anomaly – or do credit unions have the potential continue this growth into 2023? The answer depends on whether credit unions continue those practices which separate them from the competition as well as responding quickly to shifting consumer needs during these uncertain times.

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Categories
Business Growth Compliance Economy

Will New Rules Hamper Growth?

Credit unions have notched the highest percentage of auto loan originations since 2007. Leveraging consumer inflationary concerns and lower interest rates, Experian’s “State of the Automotive Finance Market” report for the second quarter released Aug. 25 showed credit unions produced 25.8 percent of the loans and leases from lenders in the three months ending June 30, up from 18.3 percent a year earlier and 22.1 percent in this year’s first quarter. Pop the corks and let the confetti fly!

Inflation concerns are likely to remain for the rest of 2022. The Federal Reserve signaled earlier this month that it plans to continue its aggressive approach to raising interest rates, with a target of 4.0 percent. However, declining gas prices across the country prompted a notable increase in the Consumer Confidence Index for August. Purchasing intent and vacation intent also increased, indicating that monetary concerns have not made a noticeable impact on consumer behavior.

In fact, consumers have made overall improvements in their financial health since the pandemic. Experian’s Melinda Zabritski, Senior Director of Automotive Financial Solutions, has seen continued improvement in consumer credit scores over the last several years with a greater percentage falling in the prime category.

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Categories
Business Growth

Choices Matter

Everyone likes choices, and consumers looking to secure financing for a vehicle are no different. When shopping for the best auto loan, they look at rates, but that’s not all. They’re also looking for value-added options to provide greater security in their decision, especially in today’s turbulent economic times.

So, how are credit unions faring?

According to S&P Global Intelligence, U.S. credit unions grew their auto loan portfolios by more than $6 billion in the fourth quarter of 2021, reporting a total balance of $408.21 billion at the end of the period. Breaking that down, new auto loans at credit unions amounted to $143.20 billion at year-end 2021, up from $142.86 billion at the end of the previous quarter. Used car loans increased 2.2 percent quarter-over-quarter and 10.2 percent year-over-year to $265.01 billion.

Auto loan trends callout

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