COLUMBUS, Ohio — Huntington announced Wednesday that it is expanding its auto dealer financing business into five additional states, including Massachusetts, Rhode Island, Vermont, New Hampshire and Maine.

Nick Stanutz, Huntington's senior executive vice president and head of the auto finance and dealer services group, said, "We currently are the number one auto dealer lender in Ohio and Kentucky and have doubled market share in most of our markets this year. Our success in the Midwest demonstrates that we have a winning business model that we can now expand to other regions of the country.

"We believe that auto dealers in New England will be attracted to Huntington as a lender with a proven track record of consistent credit underwriting and superior customer service, including funding," he added.

The company expects to add 13 positions in the next six months to support the sales and underwriting functions of the expansion. These positions will be based in the new market areas.

Moreover, Huntington said it anticipates that it will offer financing options to about 500 dealers in the Northern New England area in the coming year.

Offering a bit about the company's history, Huntington officials said they have provided new and used auto financing and dealer services throughout the Midwest since the early 1950s, and currently serve customers in Ohio, Kentucky, Indiana, Michigan, West Virginia and Pennsylvania.

The company also delivers comprehensive banking services for many of its auto dealer customers. In the second quarter of 2010, Huntington's market share for auto dealer lending in Ohio was 11.8 percent as compared to 5.4 percent in 2009. Huntington's market share in Indiana climbed to 8.5 percent from 4.3 percent last year, and made the leap to 12.9 percent from 6 percent in Kentucky.