The largest US-based EV subscription service, Autonomy, announced Wednesday it will be teaming up with Nova Credit to make it easier for customers with little to no credit to qualify to drive an electric vehicle.
Autonomy was rebranded earlier this year with the mission of giving people the financial flexibility to drive an electric vehicle without committing to the long-term costs of ownership.
Rather than outright buying or leasing an EV, Autonomy allows consumers to subscribe and drive in less than 10 minutes. The process is fully digital through the Autonomy app or the company’s website.
You can drive the EV as long as you like, paying a monthly fee and returning it when finished, while Autonomy owns the car. Autonomy started with 100 Tesla Model 3’s in January with plans to have 10,000 by the end of the year.
Scott Painter, cofounder and CEO of Autonomy, is well aware of car prices after founding TrueCar, a vehicle listing company. At that time, Painter explained:
Electric vehicles have reached a tipping point, and it’s clear that the Tesla Model 3 is this generation’s Prius. Financial responsibility and the avoidance of debt is also at an inflection point and subscriptions have become a pervasive, sustainable business model and a cornerstone of modern digital life.
In July, Electrek reported Autonomy was adding around 200 EVs per week, including Tesla Model Y models. Perhaps, the most important milestone so far was the massive order for 23,000 electric vehicles from Tesla, VW, Ford, GM, Hyundai, Rivian, Polestar, and more in August.
Autonomy’s latest partnership with Nova Credit will allow more people to experience zero-emission EV driving even with little or no credit history.
Autonomy enabling EV driving through financial inclusivity
The new partnership will combine Autonomy’s simple application process with Nova Credit’s lending tools, allowing more people to qualify for a subscription, particularly those with “thin” or no credit.
As Autonomy expands its network, it believes the new process will help “sustain rapid yet qualified customer growth.”
A Consumer Reports study finds over a third of Americans are considering buying an EV. On the other hand, the purchase cost was one of the most significant factors for those who didn’t plan to buy an EV.
Autonomy plans to solve this problem by integrating Nova Credit’s underwriting solution, Cash Atlas, allowing potential customers to increase their chances of getting approved. The company says it will now be able to “automate credit risk decisioning” directly from a customer’s bank data instead of traditional credit reports, which are often months behind.
Painter commented on what he looks to accomplish with the new partnership, stating:
Being able to automate the underwriting decision for customers that don’t have traditional credit histories, yet represent a great customer fit for our product, is the goal of this partnership.
Before adding:
Implementing Nova Credit’s Cash Atlas™ product will allow us to look beyond the traditional definitions of creditworthiness and help get more customers access to electric vehicles while ensuring that the performance of our subscription fleet remains radically better than traditional auto finance.
According to Autonomy, the company currently offers subscription options for Tesla Model 3 and Tesla Model Y. Meanwhile, the subscription EV company will soon have the entire Tesla lineup and several other popular EV models from nearly every automaker.
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