Ally Financial is finding success with encouraging its dealers to send Ally 100% of their credit applications. That gives Ally an opportunity to sift through a much bigger number of applications — then pass to partner lenders applications that don’t fit its criteria.
“The top-of-funnel volumes make all this possible,” CEO Michael Rhodes said in a Q2 earnings conference call on July 21.
Ally, based in Charlotte, North Carolina, received a record 4.6 million credit applications in the second quarter from the nearly 22,000 dealerships it serves. That was a 17% increase in applications compared with the year-ago quarter.
The net result for Ally was a 21% increase in retail auto originations, to $13.3 billion — bigger than the percentage increase in application volume. Rhodes said the increase in applications at the top of the purchase funnel allows Ally to be more selective and grow volume at the same time.
“We keep on increasing more share with an optimized mix, which is why we say, look, these strategies aren't ‘set it and forget it.’ We're always optimizing and looking at what the market has, and where pricing is, and where pricing and risk match,” Rhodes said.
Last year, Ally Financial sold off its credit card business, stopped originating consumer mortgages and focused more on its automotive business and on Ally Bank, its consumer-facing online bank. Ally Financial is the corporate successor to GMAC, the former General Motors captive finance company.
In the second quarter of 2026, Ally’s total retail auto originations consisted of $8.3 billion in used auto loans, $4.2 billion in new auto loans and $739 million in leases. That was an increase in used originations of 23.9%, while new increased 31.3% and lease originations fell 32.8%.
In terms of share, retail used auto loans accounted for 63% of total originations in the second quarter of 2026. New loans accounted for a 31.6% share and lease originations for 5.6%. In the year-ago quarter, used accounted for 61% of all originations, new for 29%, and leases for 10%.
Leasing is showing signs of life recently, but lease share overall has been down since the federal government on Sept. 30, 2025 dropped a $7,500 tax credit for buying a new battery-electric vehicle. A lot of EVs were eligible for the tax credit only if they were leased, not purchased.
Ally CFO Russ Hutchinson said high gas prices could help revive demand for EVs.
“I think one area to look at is EVs,” said Hutchinson. “We have seen more interest in EVs and hybrid electric vehicles as we’ve seen elevated gas prices,” he said.
