Ford Credit has historically fared quite well in various J.D. Power studies, most recently ranking third in the organization’s 2022 U.S. Dealer Financing Study, and it also locked down the same spot in the 2023 Canada Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study, too. Now, J.D. Power has released the findings of its 2023 U.S. Dealer Financing Study, and it reveals that Ford Credit suffered a bit of a slip versus last year, though it still ranked above the industry average, at least.
This year, Ford Credit ranked sixth among all captive mass market lenders with a score of 741 out of 1,000 possible points. That placed it behind Southeast Toyota Finance (901), Subaru Motors Finance (818), Mazda Financial Services (766), Toyota Financial Services (745), and Honda Financial Services (743), as well as ahead of Chrysler Capital (725), Hyundai Motor Finance (694), GM Financial (687), Volkswagen Credit (678), NMAC (625), Stellantis Financial Services (609, and Kia Finance America (594).
The results of this year’s U.S. Dealer Financing Satisfaction Study were derived from the responses of 3,552 auto dealer financial professionals acquired between April and May of 2023. This year, among its key findings, the study discovered that even though the process of financing a vehicle is becoming more tech-based, there’s still no substitute for face-to-face interactions when it comes to building relationships with customers.
“Finance teams overwhelmingly prefer one-on-one interaction with lending sales reps in the dealership, but there is a catch,” said Patrick Roosenberg, senior director of automotive finance intelligence at J.D. Power. “Those sales reps need to be prepared and the meetings need to be highly effective. When sales reps can clearly communicate current and upcoming programs and speak to the specifics of the dealership customer base, dealers are four times more likely to send more business within the next 12 months. The problem is, today, lender reps miss the mark on delivering a highly effective sales meeting nearly 40 percent of the time.”
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