Daimler is the latest car manufacturer to be investing a “double-digit million euro amount” into AutoGravity, a smartphone-based vehicle leasing and financing app as part of a broader push by the carmaker to build a digital platform for financial services.
Car buyers in the US can use AutoGravity to find tailored buying and leasing offers.
AutoGravity features multiple vehicle brands and models, and enables various financial services providers and automotive manufacturers the opportunity to offer vehicle financing and leasing via smartphone.
Carbuyers in some 46 states are now able to access up to four financing offers through the company’s smartphone app, website or partnering dealership websites. The company is also working on obtaining licenses in the remaining states of Connecticut, Pennsylvania, New Jersey and North Dakota.
Serge Vartanov, chief marketing officer at AutoGravity (pictured above) said that the company launched the program for new-vehicle buyers in California last September. Mercedes-Benz joined the platform in October, and last month, AutoGravity added used vehicles.
With AutoGravity, customers can shop for a car, locate a nearby dealership that has the vehicle, choose from up to four finance or lease offers and get pre-approved. The dealership still makes dealer reserve, and the customer finalizes the transaction at the dealership to buy F&I products and take delivery of the vehicle.
Into the digital age
"AutoGravity has brought car finance into the digital age,” CEO Andy Hinrichs said in a statement. “We’ve redesigned the car finance experience, taking it from hours to minutes for car buyers across the country.”
In the second half of last year, 100,000 consumers downloaded the AutoGravity app. In the first three weeks of January, Vartanov said, AutoGravity gained another 50,000 consumer downloads.
About 600 dealerships have partnered with AutoGravity so far, Vartanov said, and the web platform and mobile app receive thousands of applications each month.
More than 20 auto lenders, including Mercedes-Benz Financial Services and First Investors Financial Services, are on AutoGravity’s platform, and Vartanov said the company plans to add more lending partners and may expand internationally.
The news comes shortly after Uber announced a partnership with Daimler.
In the coming years, Daimler plans to incorporate its own self-driving Mercedes-Benz into Uber's growing fleet of self-driving cars.
Uber did not offer a specific timeline. Daimler is the first auto company to join Uber as it opens up its platform for manufacturers to introduce their own self-driving cars.
