Since then, Stellantis — formed about eight months earlier by the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Group — has been steadily rolling out the new financing option to its U.S. dealerships. Many dealers have been working primarily with Chrysler Capital, which operates as part of a private-label agreement with Santander Consumer USA formed in 2013.
Most major automakers have their own internal lender to help dealers and the factory drive sales and lower costs.
“It’s a definitive competitive advantage to have it,” Stewart said Dec. 5 at the Automotive News Congress in Detroit. “We’ve got great relationships with [Chrysler Capital], Ally, Chase and the other guys, but we have launched now already with over 1,600 dealers, so we’ve been ramping up through the course of this year. … We’ve more than doubled that business this year, so we feel very good going into next year.”
Stellantis CEO Carlos Tavares had made it clear going into the merger that exploring the establishment of a captive finance arm in the U.S. would be a priority. Tavares told Automotive News in January 2021 that “if sales finance in the U.S. is something that can help to improve the profitable business that we have in the U.S. … we’ll look for a solution, and hopefully, we’ll be able to find one.”
Tommy Moore Jr., CEO of Stellantis Financial Services, said in an emailed statement to Automotive News that it’s “making great progress in executing our vision to build Stellantis Financial Services into a full-service captive.”
Moore said the unit now offers “a full suite of retail loan products, having launched prime and near-prime loans this year.”
The lender has begun fleet financing, which supports the sale of commercial vehicles for the small fleet business. It also is launching a lease product and will unveil a dealer floorplan option soon.
Stellantis Financial is preparing to help dealerships transition to electric vehicles, which will require hefty investments for stores to install the necessary infrastructure.
“We expect to roll out a financing product this January that allows dealerships to finance upgrades to meet electrification initiatives,” Moore said. “This follows the recent news that our Stellantis U.S dealers are working in partnership with Future Energy to address their specific EV infrastructure needs.”
