ST. LOUIS. Mo. — Forecasting that the recession will continue through Q3 and Q4, Enterprise Car Sales says that outlook is good for credit unions' used car loan portfolios.
"Overall we are pretty bullish about the second half of the year," said Mark McAndrews, AVP of car sales for Enterprise Car Sales, a division of Enterprise Rent-A-Car. "The appeal of our product-late model used vehicles-is up during these challenging times. We are priced aggressively in the marketplace and our warranties are best in class."
That has led to the company's sales increasing by more than 20% in the first half of the year, and McAndrews expects that trend to continue into 2010. "We feel very good about the demand."
Enterprise Car Sales has 150 locations nationwide, and partners with credit unions to make sure that when the CU refers members to Enterprise, 100% return to the credit union for financing, McAndrews explained.
McAndrews said Enterprise is running a number of national promotions to ensure sales remain strong for the rest of the year. "For example, we are promising Kelley Blue Book fair trade value plus $500 over that," McAndrews said. "The trade process is something that is not perceived as a good consumer experience and we try to make it as simple as possible."
Enterprise has been partnering with credit unions to market its program. "We tailor the program to each credit union," said Brooke Gilchrist, national marketing manager. "We spend time up front getting to know their business objectives for the year to create a 12-month marketing plan that builds upon their existing promotion plans and takes into account their marketing budget. In this economy we have to be very cost effective."
Deciding against making the difficult call on next year's economy, McAndrews said, "I think we all agree that we're going through some unprecedented times that we will be sharing stories about for generations to come. I just hope and pray the worst is behind us."
