timmerman doug

Ally Financial has announced it is to exit both the transportation equipment finance and the RV commercial and consumer lines of business, as the auto finance lender seeks to concentrate on its key strengths and customers.

Ally RV dealers were notified of the decision earlier in August, with commercial dealers being notified personally.

Ally is continuing to service consumer retail contracts, but will notify them if there are any changes.

Transportation equipment finance covers marine vessels, airplanes, rail cars and other non-vehicle assets that are originated directly with the customer.

The company says its decision to pull out of the RV and transportation equipment finance lines of business had nothing to do with projections for either industry.

Doug Timmerman, president of auto finance for Ally, said: “These actions allow us to put more energy and more resources into our core businesses and provide the greatest value to all of our stakeholders from dealers and consumers to shareholders and employees.

“We have a long history in auto finance and it's what we do best, so maximizing the resources we have in support of dealers is the right step.”

Ally will help affected dealers transition to new finance providers so they can maintain continuity of their businesses.

Ally's Commercial Services Group, which finances and leases commercial vehicles from small cars to heavy duty trucks, is not affected by the changes and the company said it remains a vital component of Ally's value to a growing number of dealers in the space.

Ally remains one of the largest full-service auto finance operations in the country with a complementary auto-focused insurance business, which together serve more than 18,000 dealer customers and millions of auto consumers.