Chrome Capital, the nation’s leading lessor of pre-owned Harley-Davidson motorcycles, has closed on the first $40 million of an $80 million senior credit facility with Alostar Bank of Commerce and Comvest Capital, as co-lenders. Completed on September 30, 2015, the proceeds of this warehouse line will retire debt and fund further expansion of Chrome’s industry leading lease platform for its nearly 700 dealers.
As more consumers choose to lease vehicles, Chrome Capital is positioned to serve dealer demand for additional financing options. “The Alostar and Comvest team, coupled with Chrome’s highly efficient infrastructure, facilitates three core objectives of our business,” said Peter Wasmer, chief executive officer of Chrome Capital. “Help our dealer partners put more riders on more bikes; create natural, debt free recurring customers; provide a superior customer service experience to both the dealerships and their lease customers.”
Leasing continues to gain favor as a financing option for personal vehicles, including Harley-Davidson motorcycles. “The only reason not to lease nowadays is if you’re a person who likes to keep a vehicle more than seven years,” says Eric Lyman, vice president for partner development and editorial at ALG, as told to Crain’s Automotive News last year. Thirty-one percent of all new vehicle sales were leases in Q2 2015, up from 30.1 percent the previous year, and up from 19 percent in 2007, according to Experian Automotive’s Q2 2015 State of the Automotive Finance Market report.
Chrome’s TestRide is the only national leasing program for pre-owned Harley-Davidson motorcycles. After signing up its first dealership partner in late 2011, the company has grown rapidly to nearly 700 participating dealerships in 43 states.
Brian Cramer, Vice President of Dealer Development for Chrome, said, “The program continues to expand because leasing is additive to dealers’ profits, while matching their customers’ budgets and trade cycles.”
For more information: www.chromecapital.com.
