Press
CUDL Expands Their Autosmart Mobile App Offerings, Introduces Android Version for Popular Member Site
Washington D.C., September 14, 2011 — CUDL (www.cudl.com), administrators of the nation’s largest auto lending network for credit unions and the CUDL AutoSMART vehicle shopping website (www.cudlautosmart.com), has unveiled its new CUDL AutoSMART App (application) for Android mobile smart phones and devices.
The new Android app, designed specifically for credit union members, replicates features of the well-known CUDL AutoSMART website as a fully functional app for both Android smart phones and Android tablets. CUDL introduced its first AutoSMART mobile app in July of 2010, for the Apple® iPhone®, iPad™, and iPod Touch®.
The AutoSMART mobile phone app gives credit unions a valuable tool that helps them stay connected to their members through the entire vehicle buying process, improving member loyalty and their ability to retain member financing in-house, and driving more member loans.
Free to Android mobile phone owners through the Android Market, the new app gives members and consumers the ability to perform selected steps of the vehicle buying process from their Android phones and tablets, from initial vehicle shopping and research, to applying for a loan through their credit union, accessing their pre-approved credit union loan, and connecting with an auto dealership in their area. For their convenience, members can access the Android Market and download the AutoSMART app through links that are provided on credit unions’ individual AutoSMART websites. Members can also download the app directly from the Android Marketplace.
The mobile app also has the “Sell Your Ride” feature that allows members to post their personal automobiles for sale through their credit union’s AutoSMART website. Through Sell Your Ride, credit union members are able to upload and post their vehicle’s information, data and pictures to their credit union’s AutoSMART site’s “Private Party” vehicles section, using the site’s inventory program.
The AutoSMART app connects credit union members looking to purchase and finance a vehicle with both their credit union and the more than 6,000 dealers posting live inventory to CUDL’s AutoSMART website. Members can use the new mobile tool to conveniently shop the more than 650,000 vehicles listed nationwide on the AutoSMART website.
“Our AutoSMART mobile phone applications are enhancing the automobile purchasing process by giving the consumer more knowledge about credit union financing options while away from their computers,” said Kip Haas, executive vice president of products and technology at CUDL.
Auto dealers will find increased value in posting their vehicle inventory on the CUDL AutoSMART website, as their inventory will be easily accessible by members and consumers through the AutoSMART app. Dealers also benefit from the ability to connect with new customers, as Android owners can use the app to contact dealers for vehicle quotes. The app also has a dealer search feature that allows users to search for and locate dealers in their area by distance and by using a visual map overview.
The mobile phone app incorporates content from the CUDL AutoSMART website’s extensive library of research tools, including: an advanced vehicle search that allows for search by make, model and year; helpful car buying articles; affordability and payment calculators; researching vehicle trade-in values; and the ability to confirm credit union financing.
“Our goal was to provide a dynamic mobile app that leveraged the AutoSMART site to further simplify members’ approach to vehicle shopping, while providing our credit unions with an additional tool to stay connected with their members throughout the car buying process, and helping dealers to connect with customers,” stated Haas.
About CUDL
Based in Ontario, California, CUDL® (a CU Direct Corporation flagship brand) is the leader in point-of-purchase and indirect lending services for the credit union industry. As a Credit Union-owned Service Organization, CUDL develops custom applications, training and marketing programs to help credit unions achieve their indirect vehicle lending goals.
More than 945 credit unions and 7,000 dealerships nationwide rely on CUDL’s national lending network to better serve members’ vehicle shopping needs and drive member financing at the point-of-purchase. For more information about CUDL visit www.cudl.com and www.cudlautosmart.com.