TORONTO — Equifax Inc. is launching a program to allow newcomers to transfer their foreign credit history to Canada.

The credit reporting company said Thursday that the Global Consumer Credit File will make it easier for immigrants to access services like loans and cellphone plans in Canada by providing the additional data.

“It’s really important when newcomers land that they get access to the financial services ecosystem, and without credit history that’s very difficult to do,” said Sue Hutchison, head of Equifax Canada.

“They’re typically looking to, you know, rent an apartment, get a mobile phone, probably a credit card, and all of those things require credit history. So not having it makes it very difficult for newcomers.”

Equifax isn’t the first to launch such a program in Canada. San Francisco-based Nova Credit, which launched in 2016 to provide global credit score access, expanded into Canada last year in a partnership with Scotiabank.

The company has since expanded with partnerships at RBC, BMO and Rogers Communications Inc., among others.

Nova Credit partners with several credit bureaus, including Equifax, to provide data from more than 20 countries. With Equifax becoming a competitor in the space, Hutchison said conversations are underway around data access going forward.

Equifax, which has operations or investment in 24 countries, will have the advantage of being the direct provider of data from its foreign bureaus, said Hutchison.

“It’s going be coming directly from us. So that’s, I think, very attractive to the lenders themselves that they’ll be dealing directly with the credit bureau.”

The program will initially provide data from India, but the plan is to extend it to Brazil, Argentina and Chile over the coming months. Longer-term, it plans to include 18 countries in total.

Equifax will use both the data from its own operations and source from other bureaus to provide the data.

Because countries have different ways of creating credit scores, Equifax plans to provide lenders a Canadian score, a global score and a calibrated blend of both.

The program comes as Canada has seen elevated immigration in recent years, while Hutchison said Equifax’s now cloud-based platform also makes it easier to share the data securely.

This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 24, 2024.

Ian Bickis, T. C. P. (2024, October 24). Equifax launches Foreign Credit Score Sourcing Program for newcomers. BNN Bloomberg. https://www.bnnbloomberg.ca/business/company-news/2024/10/24/equifax-launches-foreign-credit-score-sourcing-program-for-newcomers

One of the critical sources of product flowing into the used market are off-lease vehicles. The supply of these vehicles into the used vehicle channels is a function of 3 variables – overall sales in previous years, lease penetration at the time, and then the degree that the leased vehicle may be bought out by the original consumer at lease maturity.

New light vehicle sales peaked in 2017 and held strong until 2019 with high lease rates above 35% leading to a strong flow of off-lease product that peaked in 2022. However, with the pandemic and then the semi-conductor related shortages, new light vehicle sales crashed and lease penetration decreased dramatically to just above 20%. Now, several years later, we are seeing the impact in the off-lease used vehicle pipeline. The supply of lease maturities is expected to continue to shrink through to 2027, and in addition, the rate of vehicle buy-out by the original consumer remains well above pre-pandemic levels. Andrew King, Managing Partner at DAC noted that “Until 2027, the Canadian used vehicle market will contend with a constrained supply of younger used vehicles, impacting the average age of vehicles changing hands and setting a pricing floor for younger used product.”

Off-lease supply is just one of a multitude of factors that impact the Canadian used vehicle market. DAC prepares an annual in-depth report on the used vehicle market that offers an analysis on market dynamics, as well as sales volumes by channel, age group, select brands, regions, and more alongside a 5-year sales forecast.

DesRosiers Automotive Consultants Inc. (2024, October 16). Off-Lease Supply of Vehicles Plummets.

This time around, the Canadian used wholesale market saw a decline of -0.40% in pricing for the week ending on Sept. 28, according to Canadian Black Book.

Its Market Insights report revealed that car segment prices were down -0.23%, while the truck/SUV segments declined -0.56%. The largest declines came from 

prestige luxury cars and mid-size cars in the car category, and mid-size luxury crossovers/SUVs and compact luxury crossovers/SUVs in the truck/SUV category. 

“The Canadian market continues a downward trend, with a decline similar to its previous week. Just over 36% of market segments experienced an average value change of more than ±$100, indicating a lower rate than the previous week,” said CBB in its update. “Among these, truck segments experienced a decline 25% greater compared to the previous week.”

In the car category, compact cars (-0.04%), sports cars (-0.09%), and luxury cars (-0.14%) experienced the smallest declines. Whereas prestige luxury cars (-0.72%), mid-size cars(-0.22%), and prestige sub-compact cars (-0.21%) saw the largest declines. 

For trucks/SUVs, mid-size luxury crossovers/SUVs (-1.05%), compact luxury crossovers/SUVs (-0.81%), compact crossovers/SUVs (-0.74%), and full-size pickups (-0.67%) experienced the largest depreciations. The smallest came from sub-compact luxury crossovers (-0.06%) and sub-compact crossovers (-0.09%).

The average listing price for used vehicles remains stable, with the 14-day moving average at $34,500. The analysis is based on around 220,000 used vehicles listed for sale on Canadian dealer lots, according to CBB. 

In other news, CBB said Equifax Canada reported a 54% increase in auto fraud year-over-year, due largely to fake credit applications and identity theft. Stellantis Chairman John Elkann is looking for a new CEO, as current head Carlos Tavares’ contract is up in 2026 — an apparently uncommon thing, due to the timing that his contract is ending. Porsche has named Trevor Arthur as its Canadian CEO. 

And CBB said “National Security risks have been identified through Chinese-made software and hardware that is intended to provide connected vehicle technologies to models sold in North America.” They said the risks have led to “an industry request on banning these products, effectively removing any opportunity for Chinese-made vehicles to be sold in the continent.”

dealer, C. auto, Lefko, P., Phillips, T., dealer, C. auto, & Lefko, P. (2024, October 2). Used vehicle prices down -0.40%; mid-size cars sees large decline. Canadian Auto Dealer. https://canadianautodealer.ca/2024/10/used-vehicle-prices-down-0-40-mid-size-cars-sees-large-decline/

Used car prices continue to decline as availability increases and new car prices have stabilized in the Canadian automotive market, according to analysis from AutoTrader.

The Canadian automotive market has experienced notable shifts in both the used and new car segments as used car prices continue to soften and new car prices eased their upward trend over the last few months.

Starting in the third quarter of 2023, the demand for used cars began to soften year-over-year, the AutoTrader Price Index for June reported. Along with the decrease in demand, an increase in used car supply — credited to strong new car sales and trade-ins — has led to a decline in used car prices. In June 2024, the average used car price dipped by 1.1 per cent from the previous month, settling at $36,342, an 8.3 per cent decrease compared to the same period last year.

That’s a higher decrease than reported by DesRosiers Automotive Consultants, which reported a 4.5 per cent drop in purchase price of passenger vehicles in June 2024 compared to June 2023.

New car prices, meanwhile, have shown stability since the beginning of the second quarter of 2024. Average new car prices in June were $66,807, a 0.8 per cent increase year-over-year.

AutoTrader noted that the stabilization of new car prices is thanks to manufacturers bringing back incentives, including more competitive interest rates, making new vehicles more affordable. In June, AutoTrader reported, interest rates on new car loans dropped to 5.3 per cent, down from 6.2 per cent in November 2023.

And interest rate cuts have helped as well. As more cuts are expected — two or three more before the end of the year — AutoTrader expects to see a boost in sales in the second half of 2024.

Demand for new vehicles should be met by adequate supply, AutoTrader expects. The group noted that ongoing pent-up demand from the pandemic will lead to gains in subsequent months.

AutoTrader’s Vehicle Affordability Index, which measures affordability in relation to average weekly wages, showed improvements in both new and used car segments. As of June 2024, it takes 29 weeks of average earnings to purchase a used vehicle and 54 weeks for a new one. It noted that these figures are higher than what was seen pre-pandemic, they’re down from 34 weeks for used cars and 56 weeks for new vehicles

BEV update

Prices for battery electric vehicles (BEVs) continued to drop, down year-over-year 14.7 per cent for new BEVs and 13.7 per cent for used ones.

That’s being driven by greater BEV inventory — AutoTrader reported that its website has seen a combined 109.4 per cent year-over-year growth for new and used BEVs. But there’s been a decline in demand, with EV purchase consideration dropping from 68 per cent in 2022 to 46 per cent in 2024.

Looking forward, used car prices are expected to continue normalizing, while new car prices are likely to remain stable, AutoTrader reported. The group believes vehicle prices for both new and used cars likely peaked in 2023 and a return to pre-pandemic levels is not anticipated in the near future due to various factors.

How new, used vehicle prices are trending. Auto Service World. (2024, August 29). https://www.autoserviceworld.com/how-new-used-vehicle-prices-are-trending/