RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. -- CUDL, a provider of indirect-lending services for credit unions, announced a partnership with CUcorp to further advance credit union and member awareness of the "Invest in America" program.

CUDL will play an important role in promoting awareness of "Invest in America" to its 700 credit union partners and 20 million members, as well as to its more than 9,000 dealers nationwide. CUDL will also facilitate credit unions' ability to provide member financing at its more than 1,800 participating GM and Chrysler dealerships nationwide. In 2008, the CUDL Auto Lending platform generated $12 billion in credit union auto loans.

"We are very excited to be teaming with CUcorp in the promotion and advancement of the 'Invest in America' program," said Tony Boutelle, president and CEO of CUDL. "Our goal is to help the program through CUDL's ability to facilitate member loans at the dealership and to further advance credit union auto lending growth and market share."

"Invest in America" is a partnership between nearly 8,000 credit unions nationwide and GM and Chrysler. It's designed to boost auto sales by making credit unions' $80 billion of low-rate auto financing available to the nation's 90 million credit union members, along with the purchase incentives provided by GM and Chrysler.

The program debuted in December before going national in early January. More than 8,000 new vehicles have been purchased through the “Invest in America” program.

"This partnership with CUDL will continue to push the 'Invest in America' credit union member discounts out to consumers," said David Adams, president and CEO of CUcorp. "It also expands GM and Chrysler dealership awareness and support for this important program. The bottom line is increased auto sales and more affordable financing through this partnership. This is meeting a critically important need for automakers."

CUDL will increase member awareness and access to the "Invest in America" discounts through its CUDL AutoSMART program. The participating credit unions will be able to promote the program through their co-branded AutoSMART Web sites, which provide members the ability to research automobiles and find deals through CUDL's inventory of 500,000 vehicles. In tandem with the CUDL partnership, CUcorp is working with GM and Chrysler to more effectively promote "Invest in America" through the extensive network of dealerships nationwide.

Participation in the "Invest in America" program does require that the consumer belong to a credit union. To join a credit union and take advantage of the special discounts and financing, consumers should click on www.lovemycreditunion.org; which has seen more than 1.3 million Web site hits the first week of the nationwide expansion.

Historically, credit unions have had lower loan rates than other financial institutions. According to loan survey company Datatrac, credit union loan rates average 5.4 percent compared to 6.9 percent for average bank rates the past three months.

The "Invest in America" program was created by CUcorp, a marketing company based in Livonia, Michigan and a wholly-owned subsidiary of the Michigan Credit Union League.