DETROIT—Chrysler Group LLC is in discussions with banks about establishing an in-house lending arm through a joint-venture to better compete in the U.S. auto market, according to people familiar with the matter.
Chrysler, which gave up its struggling finance unit in its 2009 bankruptcy, has used government-owned Ally Financial Inc. as its preferred lender for customers loans and leasing, and for the loans that dealers use to finance vehicle purchases from the manufacturer, reported The Wall Street Journal.
With its contract with Ally scheduled to end in 2013, Chrysler is talking to several major lenders including Ally, and J.P. Morgan Chase & Co., to create a new lender. Banks have approached the auto maker in the past year as its fortunes rose.
The auto maker would take an ownership stake but not completely own the lending unit, said one of the people familiar with the matter. The banks would provide all financing. The deal would be similar to an agreement that Italy's Fiat SpA, the majority owner of Chrysler, struck in 2006 with Credit Agricole SA to form Fiat Auto Financial Services.
A Chrysler spokeswoman declined to comment. JPMorgan and Ally also declined to comment.
The current arrangement with Ally hasn't allowed Chrysler to pursue some potential loan customers other auto maker have enjoyed particularly in leasing, these people said.
"Chrysler likes the relationship they have with Ally, but they also want options," said Chuck Eddy, who sells Chrysler, Dodge, Jeep, Ram and Fiat brand vehicles from his Youngstown, Ohio, dealership.
Mr. Eddy said he is satisfied with Ally as a lender; he sold 1,300 new cars last year and 90 percent were financed by Ally. "But competition is good, it keeps everyone honest and the rates where they need to be," he added.
Ally also hasn't provided so-called "floor plan" loans used to buy inventory to some weaker dealers.
Other major auto makers, including Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Toyota Motor Corp., have in-house lending arms that industry executives say provide affordable financing to dealers and consumers and which can ensure credit availability in an economic downturn.
The inability of GM and Chrysler to offer loans to a wide-range of consumers amid the 2008 financial crisis contributed to those companies' eventual bankruptcies.
In January, Chrysler leased only 9 percent of the vehicles it sold. That is compared with the 20 percent industry average. Leasing is important because it can lower the monthly payment of a company's most expensive, and highest profit vehicles.
For instance, Chrysler, through the first nine months of 2011, leased 20 percent of Chrysler-brand vehicles, 6 percent of Dodges and 15 percent of Jeeps, according to Experian. The 20 percent leasing rate at Chrysler, which is considered the company's premium brand, is well below GM and Ford's premium brands. Around 47 percent of GM's Cadillacs and 29 percent of its Buicks are leased. Ford Lincoln brand depends on leasing for 49 percent of sales.
Ally has the largest share of the U.S. auto lending market, but the lending arms of Honda Motor Co., Nissan Motor Co. and Toyota do more leasing, according to Experian.
The move toward establishing an in-house auto lender is a reversal for Chrysler CEO Sergio Marchionne, who had said previously such a move wasn't necessary. In the more than two years since he took control of the Auburn Hills, Mich., company, rivals GM and Ford have benefited financially from having more control over auto lending.
As recently as last week, Mr. Marchionne said he didn't feel that Chrysler was at a disadvantage in financing because of the lack of a finance arm.
In addition to aiding sales, a finance arm can be a valuable source of profit. GM started its own finance arm in 2010 after the purchase of subprime lender, AmeriCredit Corp. GM still has a lending agreement with Ally, which was established during its own 2009 bankruptcy. GM's new finance unit made $281 million through the first nine months of 2011.
GM at first said it didn't need a captive lending arm, but feared competition from rivals and the threat that loans could dry up in another downturn.
AmeriCredit helped GM get back into subprime lending, while Ally now provides most leases. GM this year is looking to expand its lending to dealers, which is still provided primarily by Ally.
Ally was originally GMAC Financial Services, and for 87 years was GM's captive finance arm before it sold controlling interest to private-equity firms in 2006. GMAC switched its name after the auto maker severed its limited ownership stake during its bankruptcy. Ally was boosted by $17.2 billion in government loan support and still is struggling with losses from mortgage-lending.
Chrysler is nearing the end of a four-year contract that made Ally its primary auto lender. That agreement allows the auto maker to use its marketing money to help subsidize loans and leases through Ally. The auto maker needs to decide a year ahead of the contract end if it will extend the deal, one of those people said.
Chrysler's deal with Ally came after the Obama Administration, which ushered Chrysler and General Motors in and out of bankruptcy, determined Chrysler Financial could survive only with a major cash infusion, which it refused to provide.
Chrysler Financial continued to operate as a third-party auto lender and insurance provider under the ownership of Cerberus Capital Management LP, the private-equity firm that bought Chrysler from DaimlerChrysler Corp. in 2007. The equity firm agreed to sell it to Toronto-Dominion Bank at the end of 2010.
Ally today is the largest financier of new car loans, according to industry researcher Experian Automotive.
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