"I think it's going to be a good deal for us," said Jim Bagan, a past chairman of the Mazda National Dealer Advisory Council who has sold Mazdas for 32 years. "I think most dealers are going to be very comfortable with it."
For Bagan, the switch from JPMorgan Chase to TFS is about the future. Chase has been supportive over the last decade, especially during tough economic times when Mazda needed that financial backing. But TFS is focused on auto finance and services without the obligations of a commercial bank, Bagan said in an interview.
According to Toyota, TFS has over $115 billion in managed assets, making it one of the world's largest auto finance providers. Its first U.S. finance contract was for a used Toyota Corolla in 1983 in Denver, the company said.
Having a finance captive such as TFS, with its holistic approach to automotive products and services, will be helpful to Mazda dealers. "Chase did that to a certain extent, but they had to balance that with their banking goals," Bagan said.
Bagan, co-owner of Roger Beasley Automotive Group, knows Toyota Motor Credit Corp. firsthand as a Toyota dealer. "I really don't have a single complaint about Toyota Credit," he said. Toyota Credit is the corporate parent of TFS.
Additional benefits of the TFS partnership include more control over customer data and the reinvestment of the proceeds from financing operations back into the finance company.
"Here's what this really is for us: We have strategic partnerships to sell more cars," Bagan said. Mazda's goal in the U.S. is to go from about 300,000 sales a year to around 450,000 in two years or so, he added.
A newer dealer to Mazda, Miles Brandon of Capistrano Mazda in Southern California, also had praise for Chase while welcoming TFS. Brandon, the owner, built Capistrano Mazda from the ground up using Mazda's Retail Evolution design. It formally opened at the beginning of last year.
"I have been a very happy Chase Bank (Mazda Capital Services) dealer," Brandon said in an interview via email. "They have done a great job with our wholesale needs (floorplan and construction financing). We've been very happy with all the staff and service we've received."
At the same time, he added, the tie-up with Toyota through TFS bodes well for Mazda. "This move is another positive one in what's becoming a very good working relationship between Toyota and Mazda. In the industry, TFS is looked at extremely positively. In fact, we've often heard from other dealer friends, who also have a Toyota relationship, say, 'TFS does this, TFS does that.' ... Kind of got tired of hearing it, but now I get to appreciate it!"
Mazda confirmed the switch to TFS last week after a Toyota filing with the Securities and Exchange Commission announcing it was moving into "private label finance services for third-party automotive and mobility companies," starting with Mazda Motor of America Inc.
