Fort Lauderdale, Fla.— AutoUSA has announced the addition of special finance leads as another option for its more than 4,000 dealer clients. AutoUSA’s dealers that serve the growing special finance or nonprime market will immediately benefit by receiving these leads.

In general, a consumer is considered to have special finance needs if their FICO score is below 600. At the 2006 National Auto Finance Association’s conference, growth of this industry was a major topic of discussion. One survey conducted by Benchmark International estimated that nonprime auto loan originations were up 6 percent in dollar amount from 2005 to 2006, and that lower losses on loans and a decrease in bankruptcies contributed to these numbers.

AutoUSA has partnered with several select companies that specialize in capturing consumer profile information from Web sites that serve the special finance market. Leads are stored on AutoUSA’s secure Web server, which dealers can access with a user name and password.

“With more dealerships looking for ways to remain profitable in 2007, many realize that the higher margins in the subprime market can give them a competitive edge,” said Phil DuPree, general manager of AutoUSA. “Many dealers have separate departments to handle these customers effectively. It’s all about matching the right inventory to the particular customer, and AutoUSA believes they can get dealers more exposure to these customers.”