Over the years there has been a lot of innovations and use of technology in the auto finance industry that has facilitated the service on the whole.
- It has made simple for the formulators and players in this specific segment of finance industry to design better loan products to tap more and more customers and generate more profits in return.
- When you consider the buyers of a new car, they can now find better loans at more favorable terms and a wider variety to choose from. Apart from the accessibility factor that has been eased, it has also eased the payment process as well.
All the borrowers as well as the lenders both need to do to make the most of the present loaning scenario is to stay agile and focused enough bot miss out on any chances of capitalizing on them.
The payments processing aspect
The auto finance companies are now finding it easier to process borrowers’ loan payments. This they are doing to ensure that they meet the demands of the borrowers who are now looking for convenience in loaning and ability to pay for a wider and varied range of goods and service more rapidly as well as seamlessly.
As autonomous vehicles and shared mobility are becoming more widely adopted, the auto financers now need to focus more on several important aspects including:
- More dynamic road pricing
- More relevant, useful and intuitive information
- Providing more entertainment that can be consumed in transit and
- The ride itself.
The opportunity that the auto companies as well as the auto financing companies can avail now is sizable irrespective of the fact that there are a few specific handicaps to overcome.
The modern auto finance companies vying for this business are more likely to face stiffer competition from the different players who are already established. They will need to consider different factors and use different modes of payments to connect to their platforms to customers. These are:
- Different digital payments platforms
- Credit card providers
- The commercial banks and even online sources like Liberty Lending.
In addition to that the captives must also consider leveraging their relationships with the dealers to make more customers sign up for a broader and continuing payment platform at the Point Of Sale. However, this specific approach will be restricted to conditions where the vehicles stay personally owned.
Better monetizing required
The auto finance companies must monetize the ‘digital exhaust’ where large amounts of data will be generated. This amount of data will be especially helpful to them to derive significant value of the vehicles as well as the passengers. This will help them to make the most out of the in the future of mobility.
However, just as it is in payments processing, the auto finance companies will most likely have to confront an arduous battle with several players in this specific industry such as:
- The large variety of auto makers
- The different autonomous operating system manufacturers
- The varied mobility management providers
- The variety of telecom companies
- The different social media platforms
- The large number of content providers and others.
It is only when they deal with them effectively that they will have an access and ownership of such data.
In order to make their job a bit easier, the auto finance companies may have to consider a few things such as:
- They may think of including specific clauses for data access into their loan and lease contracts with their customers or
- They may have to offer tempting incentives to the borrowers so that they easily agree to provide their data to the lender.
With the help of such huge amount of data the auto finance companies can now analyze and securitize these thoroughly so that they can optimize their own operations. Are there any easy way out? Of course! They could use third parties who are interested in targeted advertising.
The dealer modernization aspect
The auto finance companies engaged in a medium run can also create a better opportunity for themselves to finance the conversion of dealerships. This will help them to compete with confidence in the future state III which is the state where:
- The models will be built to order much more to meet the demands of the customers and in addition to that
- This state will also have dealer facilities that will be much more customer friendly.
The auto finance industry may now shift their focus and include financing the infrastructure required for the shared autonomous vehicles in the future state IV. This may include the demand for storage facilities for the fleets that face a short lived low demand period.
New level of engagement
The automotive industry is now extended and it is also experiencing a profound and continual disruptive transformation. This is driving the advent of a novel mobility ecosystem. Since the auto finance companies are indispensable players in the finance industry, it is elementary that they focus and implement the necessary changes that will transform their business models. This will help them to align it with the new foundations of value creation and growth.
Just as it is seen in most pronounced transformations, the future of mobility also creates a wider variety of opportunities for the auto finance industry. However, since several challenges come with it, it will result in both winners and losers.
Such and more different changes are likely to come thick and fast and sometimes more than anyone can imagine. Therefore, the stakeholders participating in the industry of these modern day and age need to make sure that:
- They are more focused, engaged and alert to make the most out of the short window of opportunity and
- They are willing and ready always to adapt and to transform so that they can create a more sustainable and a highly enduring advantage.
Ideally, moving with the times is the best way to think and move ahead of it as well. The auto finance industry is no exception to this rule as well. It is better for the industry, the borrowers as well as the economy of the nation.