As the coronavirus pandemic shuttered automakers’ plants and auto dealerships, General Motors’ captive arm acted quickly to assist dealerships and customers. The lender set the tone early in the crisis as the first automaker captive to offer generous incentives to stoke sales.

Even at the height of the pandemic panic, GM Financial’s program was so successful that it depleted dealers’ inventory. Other automakers and lenders followed suit, salvaging new-vehicle sales at a time when dealerships needed them most. 

Dan Berce, 67, leads a lender that acted quickly to waive late fees and offer assistance in the form of payment relief options, credit reporting measures and lease-end help for customers impacted by the virus. The company rapidly deferred dealers’ floorplan payments, and allowed them flexibility to put bonus dollars toward cash flow rather than into customer rebates. GM Financial also tapped lender relationships to assist 27 dealerships in obtaining Paycheck Protection Program funds. 

In the past 12 months, GM Financial’s marketing programs generated approximately 2 million leads for GM dealers. Those efforts secured approximately 430,000 vehicle sales for the automaker’s dealerships, and led to about 300,000 auto originations for the captive. Volume for GM Financial’s online credit application rose 27 percent in October compared with October 2019.