DETROIT — J.D. Power has appointed Jim Houston as senior director of its auto finance practice. In his new role, Houston will use his 30-year experience in auto finance to help guide the industry through a potentially volatile period of new-vehicle sales and declining used-car values, the company said.

“I’m very excited to be joining J.D. Power to lead the auto finance practice, especially at this critical time for the automotive market and lenders,” Houston said. “The combination of new-vehicle sales tapering off and the growing volume of off-lease vehicles driving down used-car values creates some potential business concerns for auto lenders. It’s not a doom-and-gloom scenario, but it does require banks and captive lenders to remain diligent in order to stay competitive.”

Houston most recently served as the head of major account strategy and business development at TD Auto Finance. He's he’s also held leadership positions at both captive companies and banks.