CA Auto Bank is the new bank dedicated to the mobility sector: a reality that takes up the Turin legacy of FCA Bank, but it’s not just the name that is changing. In fact, the new group will provide financial services for those who want to drive cars of different brands. On the contrary, not only looks at the automotive world but at 360 grad green mobilityi: motorcycles, campers, vehicles for professionals and more. A new chapter for finance and engines, which starts once again from Torino.
CA Auto Bank: the bank for green mobility is born in Turin
We are in the heart of Turin. The Mole Antonelliana is a symbol of the city. Almost as much as what was once the Fiat group, which has now become Stellantis. CA Auto Bank could not be born anywhere else: the new bank for green mobility wants to look to the future, but without renouncing the almost century-old history it inherits from Sava, the company co-founded by Giovanni Agnelli in 1925.
A new chapter in the history of automotive financing
Turin is part of the history of the car. And CA Auto Bank aims to keep writing it. As the president of CA Auto Bank explains Stephane Priami, the new company arrives to respond to a market that has changed a lot in recent years.
“Our story begins in 2019. After examining the entire automotive sector, we realized that the automotive world was changing. Ownership disappears in favor of use, the economy becomes ever greener. Electric and hybrid cars cost more: you need financing and operating leasing models. And when traveling in the city, in the middle of the ZTL, short-term rentals are increasingly used. Added to this is the phenomenon of digitalisation, which is growing rapidly in the automotive sector. There are fewer and fewer dealers: between now and 2030 one out of two cars will be sold on the web”.
In addition to changing consumption patterns, the companies on the market are also changing. Priami recognizes him. “The car market is concentrating: we see it with Stellar and the approach of historical European brands. The other trend it’s the explosion of electric brands, we have a lot of them especially from Asia and America. Distributors and dealers are becoming increasingly important: they used to cover only one brand, but in the future they will sell several brands. This means that new methods of financing will be needed”.
CA Auto Bank inherits an important history
Giacomo Carelli does not hide that the Group thinks this day is fundamental: Turin is once again at the center of automotive history. “Today is an important day for us. The future is born, already today. Precisely in Turin, where our story began a hundred years ago”.
“The decision to present our company in Turin has an important value: here we were born and here begins the story that takes us all over the world. Our roots are here: Sava was founded in the Lingotto in 1925, the first finance company in Italy dedicated to the automotive world. At that time, animal traction was still the norm. But the car was the future and Sava was born to support the marketing of the car. Giovanni Agnelli and the first CEO Vittorio Valletta they transform the nature of the car forever. It is not good for the privileged but a tool for the middle class”.
That intuition immediately had a fundamental impact, helping to launch the car and establish it as a central means of transport for the market. “The first car sold on installments by Sava was the Fiat 509. Then came the Fiat 508 (the “Balilla”), but the revolution comes with the “Topolino”, the 500 that everyone wants and costs less than nine thousand lire. Leaping forward, in the 1960s Gianni Agnelli led Fiat to unprecedented results – also thanks to Sava. The financial company continues to present innovative solutionssuch as Sava Leasing for companies in the 70s: turnover increases by 20% every year. In the 80s and 90s the market became international.
An international story, with Turin at the centre
In the new millennium, Carelli recounts the Group’s rapid international expansion. “In 2004 Marchionne arrives at Fiat, with the relationship with General Motors and the rationalization allowing Fiat to redefine itself. In December 2006 the partnership with Crédit Agricole arrives, which crea Fiat Auto Financial Services. The company we can present today descends directly from this company.
Meanwhile, car models are also being renewed. And soon the electric breakthrough of Fiat arrives, supported by financing and leasing. “In 2007 the Nuova 500 arrives, an emblematic car that is a direct descendant of the Topolino of the 1930s. But also the first zero-emission electric car, launched in 2022. In 2009 the company becomes FGA Capital, which will then become FCA after the merger with Chrysler – and in 2021 Stellantis was born, today ranked fifth among the manufacturers.
FCA Auto Bank is born
The breakthrough comes soon. “FCA Auto Bank was born in 2015, which a today it doubles its income to 29 billion euros. In August 2016 it launched the first online services, which also lead to the birth of the digital credit card. But digital serves 360 degrees: from digital onboarding to e-commerce launched in 2020 (which also exploits Tesla in some markets)”.
During the same period, relations with other car brands grew. “There are also many relationships with companies of other brands. From Jaguar e Land Rover in 2008, passing through Maserati, Ferrari and also the world on two wheels. Meanwhile, in 2019 it was born Leasys, which leads to the birth of the Mobility Stores, which offer innovative services. As Car Cloud, the first online subscription for cars in Italy. Smart mobility, sustainable mobility. Which also leverages several major acquisitions across Europe, something that led to the breakthrough announced today.”
The turning point with Crédit Agricole
Carelli continues by explaining the most important turning point of recent years. “Crédit Agricole acquires Stellantis shares in FCA Auto Bankto transform it into a point of reference for smart and independent mobility in the automotive world and beyond. In 2022, after almost a century of history, an independent journey begins: for this reason they change their name and graphic symbol”.
CA Auto Bank is born
The pivotal announcement comes on the heels of this momentous story: “Crédit Agricole Auto Bank is born, taking over from FCA Auto Bank to become an independent and multi-branch playerd. We are an independent player, not tied to a single house or building group. But we have a know-how linked to our almost century-old history.”
CA Auto Bankcontrolled by Crédit Agricole Consumer Finance (itself part of Crédit Agricole SA), follows the agreements between the French group and Stellantis, announced in 2021. And it brings its new vision to 17 countries.
The change of pace is clear. It is no longer a question of working to fuel the sales of Stellantis, but to support green mobility in general: all brands and also various vehicles beyond cars. “We intend to collaborate with all operators in the sector, all brands and also online platforms. The birth of CA Auto Bank becomes fundamental for Crédit Agricole. Now we want to democratize access to green mobility and to do so we are expanding our range of action. Not only cars, but also commercial vehicles, caravans and vans, agricultural machinery, boats. And also partnerships with large platforms – all with our vocation for green mode. CA Autobank wants to become a protagonist of the green transitionproviding leasing and financing for the forms of mobility of the future”.
A response to market needs
Carelli explains to us that the arrival of CA Auto Bank responds to market needs, which Priami spoke about in his speech. “The younger ones are looking for use solutions that are not based on ownership. If until now our goal was to democratize the car – since 1925 – now we want to make access to green and electrified vehicles within the reach of the middle class. We want our solutions to become for zero impact mobility what installment payments were for the car in the last century”.
All without losing the Turin identity. “We are an international operator, based in Turin. A digital and omnichannel bank: all products are also accessible via mobile. We are an independent and multi-brand operator. And we have a target of 10 billion euros by 2026to manage 80% of electric or hybrid vehicles in 2030.
Many brands and many vehicles
Carelli explains that being multi-brand opens up various avenues for the engines of CA Auto Bank. “We already work with several companies come Ferrari, McLaren, Tesla, Aston Martin. But also emerging brands such as Always, Invincible from DR. To which are also added the Stellantis brands, although we are no longer closely linked. In the world of motorbikes we work with all the main brands, the same goes for campers and RVs, as well as commercial vehicles of Ford Trucks e BMC”.
Furthermore, the smart mobility experience continues with Drivalia. “With Drivalia we are continuing what we started with Leasys, to make sustainability accessible to everyone. With all methods of use: rent, lease, subscribe e share. Today we are present in seven European countries, but by 2024 we will be in seventeen countries. Added to this is the presence of 1,600 charging points, which will become 3,500 in 2026″.
A brand with a strong physical presence, but which focuses entirely on digital. “You can enter the world of CA Auto Bank through i Mobility Store physicists present throughout Europe, but…