Equipment finance company Odessa has entered the auto industry. The company has launched an originations platform called Odessa Auto and plans to grow it into a full-service end-to-end auto finance suite, Odessa said in a Wednesday (April 24) press release. “Odessa’s deep asset finance experience enables the company to offer state-of-the-art auto origination technology on Day 1,” Robert Johnson, executive vice president of auto finance at Odessa, said in the release. “Moreover, the easily configurable platform enables lenders of all sizes to meet their origination needs without custom development.”

Chase has joined CarGurus’ multilender financing platform, expanding options for consumers looking to prequalify for auto financing online.The bank joins Capital One, Global Lending Services and Westlake Financial as a participating lender on the online automotive platform, CarGurus said in a Monday (Jan. 29) press release.With over 70% of car shoppers wanting to handle more of the car buying process from home, CarGurus recognizes the importance of offering finance-based shopping tools, according to the release.By prequalifying for financing through CarGurus’ platform, consumers can access personalized rates and monthly payment scenarios within minutes, without impacting their credit scores, the release said.This allows them to better understand their budget earlier in their shopping journey, per the release. Prequalified shoppers can then review vehicles with their rates and monthly payments on listings available through dealerships that offer Chase financing.“By prequalifying with Chase early in the process, we hope to give shoppers on CarGurus confidence in their buying power,” Anuj Jain, head of auto product and consumer services at Chase, said in the release.The partnership between CarGurus and Chase not only benefits consumers but also helps dealers deliver a seamless and efficient customer experience, according to the press release. Prequalified leads through CarGurus have shown to be 41% more likely to close compared to leads that aren’t prequalified or financed.The program is available nationwide through the more than 9,000 dealerships that work with both CarGurus and Chase, per the release.“CarGurus partnership with Chase demonstrates our shared vision to equip shoppers with the tools needed to make an informed purchase with confidence and ease, while also helping dealers deliver on their goals for a seamless and efficient customer experience,” Gerard Murphy, vice president of product, digital retail, at CarGurus, said in the release.In another recent development in this space, Bank of America said in November that it debuted tools to help customers complete and finance online car purchases. With these tools, clients can become prequalified for auto financing to find out how much they may be able to borrow and estimate their terms.In September, FinTech company Carputty added artificial intelligence (AI) solutions to its auto financing platform, saying that this technology makes for faster, more transparent and less subjective decisions