Lincoln Automotive Financial Services led luxury dealers for the eighth year in a row in J.D. Power’s annual U.S. Consumer Financing Satisfaction study, while Truist — formerly known as BB&T — took the lead for mass-market brands.
J.D. Power said last week the results weighed responses of 10,103 customers who financed a new or used vehicle within the past three years. Five factors determined satisfaction: billing and payment process, mobile app experience, onboarding process, origination process and website experience.
Jim Drotman, Ford Credit executive vice president of U.S., Canada and International, said in a statement the lender’s goal is to be among the reasons Ford customers remain with the brand.
“Despite the pandemic and unprecedented numbers of customer calls, our team never lost sight of this,” Drotman said. “Tough times only strengthen our resolve to do the right thing for our customers, so they become customers for life.”
The study, fielded in July and August, also found accelerated digitization of dealership finance-and-insurance departments during the coronavirus pandemic influenced consumer responses.
Many buyers who obtained digital financing reported they preferred the experience, even after COVID-19 no longer influences their buying decision, Patrick Roosenberg, director of automotive finance intelligence at J.D. Power, said in a statement.
“To improve satisfaction and lower the cost to serve during these changing times and beyond, providers need to build a robust digital platform that addresses borrower needs, from research and origination through account management and billing,” he said.
Lincoln Automotive Financial Services, Ford Credit’s consumer-facing luxury brand, received a score of 899. The captive lender was followed by Capital One Auto Finance, scoring 885, and BMW Financial Services rounded out the top three with 881.
For the mass market, Truist’s score of 879 led auto finance brands. Capital One Auto Finance and Ford Credit tied for second with a score of 870. Honda Financial Services ranked third-highest with 866.