VW Credit is investing in AutoGravity to enable buyers to secure vehicle financing using their smart phones.
VW Credit Inc. plans to make an equity investment in AutoGravity, an automotive lending app launched by a California firm less than two years ago.
The scope of the investment was not disclosed but with the money, VW Credit is supporting its goal of creating a digital experience that enhances the customer financing process. Digital financing via smart phone has emerged as new frontier in automotive finance in the past year.
Through this partnership with AutoGravity, a “FinTech” pioneer in facilitating car shopping and financing with the power of the smart phone, buyers will have direct access to Volkswagen and Audi financing across the United States.
“Customers are becoming more demanding of mobile technology and the world of auto financing is no exception,” said Horst Meima, president and CEO at VW Credit. “We are ready to become a leader in shaping this part of the industry and believe that AutoGravity can help get us there.”
(Daimler invests millions in financing app. For more details, Click Here.)
VW Credit has launched a smart phone app, available for iOS and Android. Back in February, Daimler AG invested what was described as “several million euros” in AutoGravity as part of a broader push by the car maker to build a digital platform for financial services.
By using their smart phones, VW buyers will spend less time looking at signs like this one.
Daimler made its investment because it was looking for another way to try to catch the interest of younger (i.e. millennials) buyers, who are more inclined to shop for a vehicle and the financing on a smart phone.
AutoGravity has said more than 400,000 users — more than half of whom are millennials — have downloaded the mobile technology provider’s iOS and Android apps for vehicle shopping and financing.
(Click Here for more about Ford’s tie-up with AutoFi.)
“Mobile technology is a game changer for consumers, dealers and lenders. We have pioneered a digital experience that saves time and improves satisfaction for all parties through a device we are intimately familiar with – the smart phone.” said Andy Hinrichs, CEO at AutoGravity.
“AutoGravity has experienced substantial growth since our first app hit the marketplace in the summer of 2016. This investment will help us accelerate in the face of rapidly growing consumer and industry demand,” he added.
Based in Irvine, California, AutoGravity offers car buyers across the U.S. the ability to obtain up to four personalized financing offers on the vehicle of their choice. It insists it also used advanced bank-level encryption and proprietary data security technologies to ensuring sensitive information is processed securely.
AutoGravity isn’t the only player in the segment. Ford Motor Co. recently said it signed a deal with a San Francisco start-up company, Auto Fi, to allow customers to purchase or finance a new Ford vehicle in minutes from anywhere, on any device through a new platform from Ford Motor Credit Co. and AutoFi.
(To see why GM and VW are leading the pack for North American auto awards, Click Here.)
In addition, Ford Credit also invested in AutoFi as Ford Credit continues pursuing technological advances to make the financing experience easier for consumers to navigate.