The newest Auto Finance Digital Transformation Index from Wolters Kluwer showed the strongest eContracting quarterly adoption rate on record.

During this first quarter of moderate growth in sales, Wolters Kluwer said auto retailers and their financing partners continued to seek opportunities to adopt digitized contracting and documentation workflows to increase back-office efficiency, and documentation compliance and accuracy during transactions.

Analysts found that this digital adoption for eContracting increased 32% during the first quarter compared with the fourth quarter of 2023. Wolters Kluwer attributed this growth to the seasonal tax-buying period, where more individuals are leveraging tax returns to shop for vehicles.

Wolters Kluwer pointed out this jump also represented the best quarter on record since the company began tracking digital adoption rates.

The year-over-year growth increased 37%, and the four-year trend continues to show digital adoption growth of 138% dating back to the first quarter of 2020.

That was the top finding from the Auto Finance Digital Transformation Index, which included first-quarter results and analysis included in Wolter Kluwers’ resource that tracks the rate at which auto dealers, service providers and finance companies are seeing growth in the evolution from paper-based finance back-office processes to digital.

“The first quarter marked a significant milestone, with record-breaking rates of auto professionals embracing digital workflows for transaction documentation,” said Tim Yalich, head of auto strategy for Wolters Kluwer.

“This adoption reflects a pivotal realization among industry leaders, the increased need to harness digital technologies to enhance speed, efficiency, and accuracy in their operations,” Yalich continued. “As we navigate an increasingly dynamic marketplace, leveraging digital contract solutions enables us to streamline processes and elevate customer experiences.”

Wolters Kluwer’s Q1 Auto Finance Digital Transformation Index also showed that the digitization adoption rate for securitization markets has accelerated since the previous quarter.

Analysts indicated the digital auto loan volume in securitization markets increased 70% compared with the fourth quarter of 2023, while also expanding 14% compared with the same time last year.

Similar to eContracting, this quarterly jump is the largest on record for Wolters Kluwer, and the four-year trend has increased 53%.

“Experts are bullish on auto securitizations because of their user-friendly bond structures, and they have shorter durations. Because of this continued increase in securitization, lenders are adopting additional digitization strategies for their document workflows,” Wolters Kluwer said.

To learn more and to access additional data insights from the Wolters Kluwer Auto Finance Digital Transformation Index, go to this website.