SAN FRANCISCO – Wells Fargo & Company (NYSE: WFC) has joined AutoFi's North American network of automotive lenders. AutoFi is a leading commerce platform for end-to-end digital automotive sales and financing. The new collaboration supports Wells Fargo's goal of offering customers more digital options while also giving consumers the additional flexibility they want to quickly and easily conduct business.
Shifting demographics, consumer tastes, and the COVID-19 pandemic have all combined to accelerate the adoption of digital finance in automotive retail. Consumers now expect a fully touchless digital purchasing option. According to the June 2020 CarGurus U.S. COVID-19 Sentiment Study, before the pandemic, 32% of car shoppers were open to buying online. Now, 60% are open to the idea. Working together, Wells Fargo and AutoFi will help consumers complete their digital purchase journey seamlessly and conveniently, including prequalifying for a loan to approval and financing.
Customers of the country's top automotive dealers, digital retailers, and online marketplaces can obtain real-time credit decisioning from Wells Fargo. After selecting the financing terms and monthly payment that work best for them, customers can easily shop for their vehicle, learn the value of their trade-in vehicle, and select financing and F&I products entirely online.
"Our customers are our top priority — both dealers and consumers. Across Wells Fargo, we are making investments in digital capabilities, so we can seamlessly serve customers across channels and provide choice in how they do business with us," said Tanya Sanders, head of Wells Fargo Auto. "Joining the AutoFi platform helps us reach and serve more consumers and do it in a way that supports consumers' changing car-buying habits."
"We are thrilled to partner with the Wells Fargo Auto team. We share a common vision of using technology to deliver a delightful consumer purchase experience," said Kevin Singerman, CEO of San Francisco-based AutoFi. "By working together, we can bring tremendous value to both traditional and digital dealers as well as online marketplaces across the nation."
AutoFi's platform and APIs empower the nation's leading automotive lenders' ability to reach and seamlessly serve more customers with a better car-buying experience. The company also helps lenders provide dealers with powerful tools to close sales faster than ever before. As a result, hundreds of thousands of customers representing billions of dollars in vehicle sales and finance will come through the AutoFi platform this year.
