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Covid-19 impacted virtually every industry around the world, and the car finance industry is no exception. Though demand for cars has remained strong, global supply chain issues have meant car sales have dropped more than 15% over the past 12 months.
These global supply chain issues have led to a shortage in the availability of new cars and a surge in the price of used cars. Used car prices are reportedly 36% higher than pre-pandemic, and these prices aren’t predicted to return to normal until mid-2022.
It’s also led to dramatic changes to the way people buy, finance and insure cars. With better availability of data and technological advancements, experiences across the internet have become more personalised. But car finance has been left behind, particularly in Australia, a market that has lagged compared to places like the UK and the US.
Forced adoption
Covid-19 was the catalyst that forced many industries to move online, a switch that has benefited new players poised to provide online and personalised experiences.
One such fintech, Driva, is using proprietary loan matching technology to give customers a fully personalised lending experience with a digitised and streamlined online borrowing journey.
Businesses like Driva are leading the charge in the rapid move to online car buying, and helping define what buying a car looks like in the digital age.
What does going digital actually mean?
The increased adoption of online processes in the Australian automotive space means providers have more access to data than ever.
This means they’re able to serve up more personalised, streamlined experiences, and makes it easier than ever for consumers to make sure they’re getting a good deal.
We broke down below what this means in practice:
1. Loan matching algorithm
Driva’s AI-driven platform utilises proprietary credit models to match customers with loan options based on thousands of lender data points. For consumers, this means fully personalised rates that will not change later in the process. By contrast, traditional brokers and lenders often use appealing generic starting rates which are likely to increase once a full credit assessment has been conducted.
This algorithm makes it possible to accurately compare personalised finance options across multiple lenders in one place — something that would be impossible in the offline world.
2. Innovative data sources
Driva’s innovative application process categorises consumer bank statement data, allowing them to match a customers income and spending habits against thousands of lender policies to find their best deal.
They also use third party data sources like the ATO or superannuation funds to verify income — instead of more traditional methods like physical copies of payslips.
For consumers, this means fewer visits to the bank to get copies of your bank statements or calls to your employer to get PDF copies of your payslips.
3. Integrations with digital partners
Like many other technology companies, Driva is leveraging the power of Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) to offer more than just a finance solution.
Through API integrations with various third parties, Driva enables you to not only finance for your next car online, but also shop for the car itself through Driva’s online network of used car seller partners.
For many, this could mean ditching the weekend visits to the dealership in favour of 360 degree virtual inspections on the Driva platform.
How does this benefit consumers?
As finance moves online, companies like Driva are able to use their advanced AI-driven platform and access to data to give customers a more streamlined, unified and fully personalised solution. This means convenience and in some cases thousands of dollars in savings.
How does this benefit partners?
As finance becomes increasingly complex and more heavily regulated, fintechs like Driva who are laser focused on a digital finance experience have taken the regulatory and time burden away from dealers and other online partners.
For dealers this means they can focus on what they do best — procuring and selling quality vehicles.
It can also add to a dealer’s bottom line, driving finance penetration (the proportion of cars sold on finance) much higher. Historically, dealers have sold just 30% of their cars through finance, even though 90% of new cars in Australia are bought through some form of finance.
Using the Driva finance solution, dealers have been able to achieve finance penetration of well over 50% — which means more sales and more finance revenue.
The world of car finance is rapidly moving towards the digital realm, and this transition is beneficial to customers, lenders and dealers. Not only does it make finance more transparent and affordable for customers, but it also provides a wealth of new opportunities for dealers.
Driva is an Australian fintech platform that matches customers with their best available car finance options.
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