Philadelphia, PA, Jan. 07, 2025 (GLOBE NEWSWIRE) --
DriveItAway Holdings Inc. (OTC: DWAY) Chief Executive Officer, John F. Possumato provides the following year end message to shareholders.
Dear Fellow Shareholders,
As we all mark the end of 2024, I want to once again share my enthusiasm about what has been accomplished by your Company in meeting the uphill challenges and headwinds of 2024, and my optimism in setting the foundation for future growth, in a sector of the industry that is expanding throughout the world, as the acquisition of new and used vehicles are now becoming more and more unaffordable for the majority of consumers, through traditional purchase or lease channels.
Our Company software platform and app is dedicated to enabling millions of people in the United States who do not have access to personal transportation, or have inadequate personal transportation due to down payment or credit challenges, or those who do not want to make an immediate long-term financial commitment, the ability to immediately drive and then buy the vehicle of his/her choice. Our technology serves a basic need, as it "de-risks" the transaction of subprime and deep subprime credit candidates, doing this in a way that creates new customers for car dealers and allows everyone access to quality vehicles, including the 18-34-year-olds, who according to IHS Markit research (March 2024), are now buying or leasing new vehicles at the lowest point on record (just 9.3% of current new vehicles sales), a very real problem, for both vehicle manufacturers and car dealers.
2024 - Steady Progress Meeting Challenges and Building a the Foundation for Growth
The anomaly presented in 2022 and 2023 were very difficult years for companies like ours, as the historic unprecedented new and used vehicle shortage in the United States, for all dealers, greatly reduced our platform inventory, and low interest rates, high trade-in values and easy credit standards provided access for vehicles to many through traditional purchase channels.
The year 2024 marked a dramatic shift in the automotive retail market, back to more "normal" conditions. Car dealers once again found themselves with an oversupply of vehicles, just as interest rates moved up to the highest level in decades, driving "floor plan" carrying costs much higher. At the same time, average new and used vehicle sales prices did not come down significantly from historic highs of prior years, and finance institutions tightened credit and required higher down payment amounts, as delinquencies rose substantially. This has squeezed more and more "subprime" and "deep subprime" credit buyers out of the traditional market, leaving, again, few good personal vehicle purchase alternatives.
During this time, your Company has continued to lay the foundation for rapid future growth. As for the last one hundred and twenty or so years vehicles have been for sale there has almost always been more "supply" than "demand," we worked past the current market anomaly and we prepared for the future by continuing to develop the processes, technology, and relationships that we feel will make DriveItAway the high growth leader in its emerging market.
Highlights of the accomplishments of DriveItAway 2024 -
- March 2024 - After a successful pilot test, DriveItAway announced its partnership with Partners Personnel, the 12th largest national staffing organization in the nation, to offer its micro-lease program to employees to help people get to work, as one of the largest employment problems for entry level employees is getting to and from the job, according to Kristy Gebhart, Regional Vice President and Chair for the Associate Resource Committee of Partners Personnel
- April 2024 - DriveItAway announced that automotive retailers can use the DriveItAway technology, with fleet credit line options provided by Westlake Fleet, part of Westlake Financial, creating a comprehensive package for a turnkey dealership-based flexible lease program
- May 2024 - DriveItAway secured a credit line of 2 million dollars, from a respected rental industry veteran, to fund its own fleet of vehicles for the DriveItAway platform, expanding its direct services and also serving as an introduction and demonstration to partner dealers on how the program works, to entice dealers to run their own fleet using DriveItAway technology
- July 2024 - DriveItAway announced a partnership with Corporate Claims Management, one of the oldest and largest independent comprehensive fleet service and accident management companies in the US, for national vehicle maintenance, mechanical service and accident management for driver-focused quality fleet care
- July 2024 - DriveItAway announced a partnership with Chapman Automotive Group, an eight location, multi-franchise dealership group in Pennsylvania and New Jersey, to supply new vehicles and to provide DriveItAway's micro-lease to ownership program to Chapman store customers
- September 2024 - DriveItAway announced a partnership with AllShifts, one of the highest rated national healthcare staffing firms in the US, to help on-demand nurses get to the job
In total, DriveItAway's average company owned and fleet under management has increased over 100% year over year from 2023 to 2024, and most importantly, through the accomplishments above, has laid a strong foundation for future rapid scaling of vehicle growth. With further development of both the "supply" and "demand" side of the business, and an alignment with service providers to streamline fleet management on a national scale, your company has leveraged and amplified the benefit of its proprietary in app micro-lease technology for both its own use and to be provided as a software-as-a-service to car dealers and rental companies, to expand business beyond traditional vehicle sales, leases or rentals.
Indeed, DriveItAway's business and value proposition is so new and compelling to the industry, that I have been asked to speak about it at over six national and international live trade shows in 2024, including the Conference of Automotive Remarketing, the Auto Intelligence Summit, the International Car Rental Show, AutoTech Detroit, MOVE (London), MOVE America, and Used Car Week, as well as being asked to participate in over six virtual industry events.
2025 kicks off in January addressing our sector of the business, with growth and development worldwide, on a panel I created and proposed for the massive National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Show. Note: the NADA Show is the largest dealer focused convention of its kind, routinely has over 20,000 attendees, and is one of the most selective in choosing the hundreds of panel speaking proposals submitted, yet it accepted my proposal for 2025, "Thriving in a Tough Market" which will review and outline new ways dealers will expand sales and market share in the years to come, using technology and programs like DriveItAway. Also, the co-founder and CEO of the largest subscription platform in Germany is traveling to the United States to participate on this panel.
2025 - Driving Growth and Development
As macro developments of oversupply and affordability continue to create the automotive retail environment problems that the DriveItAway technology and platform was created to solve, and after creating the foundational relationships and technologies to scale, we look forward to further rapid growth and achievements in 2025.
Your Company has a number of goals to further growth and be ready to leverage what we see will be a massive waive towards alternative ways to drive and then buy new and used vehicles, particularly by younger buyers in the 18-34 age range, who need transportation but lack the cash, credit, or even desire to immediately make a long term financial commitment to own one.
First, we want to substantially increase our credit line to operate our own fleet of vehicles, to both increase revenues, continue to improve our technology, and act as an "open book" example to car dealers that are interested in using our platform as software-as-a-service to operate a fleet and expand sales and market share. We see this as a unique competitive advantage of DriveItAway, in partnering with dealers to supply our own fleet, to show completely how our program works - we don't just offer SaaS, we put our "money where our mouth is" in demonstrating the returns and advantages. At root, we are designed for and remain an SaaS tool for dealers, but as any new innovation, the best sales process is live demonstration.
Second, we want to continue to make strong and deep industry alliances, not just with partner companies but with the best individuals in our sector of the market. In 2025, our goal is to have some of the best on a newly created Board of Advisors for your Company, and on our Board of Directors. Now that we have laid a firm foundation, we are looking for the best people to guide longer term strategy and growth, to fully leverage the massive opportunity we see before us.
Third, we want to open up the vast new market of small commercial (non-gig) customers. Up until now your company has focused demand for individuals, particularly those who need a vehicle to get to and from work, in 2025 our goal is to expand this market to those who use their SUV, truck or van to work, not in a gig or rideshare capacity, but as a small fleet vehicle.
There are over 3,275,000 vehicles used in small businesses in the US (Automotive News, March 2024), representing a market size of over $300B with anticipated growth CAGR of 5.59 during the next year (Precedence Research, Oct 2024). DriveItAway is now creating a strategic plan to address this large and fast-growing market with one of the leading experts in the fleet business, on how to address small commercial account needs with a flexible, pay as you go lease, with DriveItAway. As with subprime individuals, the credit criteria for conventional financing is very limited for these businesses, so DriveItAway sees a scalable, large opportunity to satisfy this need, in the same way it does for individuals, by de-risking the process for both the vehicle owner and the customer, that ultimately leads to more opportunity and sales.
Summary
While 2024 again presented many challenges, we are leaving the year much stronger, having gone further in creating the foundation upon which to scale rapidly, as the macro-economic tailwinds in the United States move in our direction. With a clear strategy, and with the continued support of our shareholders, we are poised for a journey of remarkable growth and achievement in the coming years. We look forward to sharing this journey with you and to achieving new heights together.
Thank you for your support and belief in DriveItAway in 2024 and beyond.
Best regards,
John F. Possumato
Chief Executive Officer
DriveItAway Holdings Inc.
For further information on DriveItAway Holdings, Inc., and all the Company's subsidiaries and products please visit www.driveitaway.com
About DriveItAway Holdings. Inc.
DriveItAway Holdings, Inc. is the first national dealer-focused mobility platform that enables car dealers to sell more vehicles in a seamless way through eCommerce, with its exclusive "Pay as You Go" app-based subscription. DriveItAway provides a comprehensive turn-key, solutions-driven program with proprietary mobile technology and driver app, insurance coverages, and training to get dealerships up and running quickly and profitably in emerging online sales opportunities.
Cautionary Statement Regarding Forward-Looking Statements
This press release may contain forward-looking statements within the meaning of the federal securities laws. Forward-looking statements relate to expectations, beliefs, projections, future plans and strategies, anticipated events or trends and similar expressions concerning matters that are not historical facts. In some cases, you can identify forward-looking statements by the use of forward-looking terminology such as "may," "will," "should," "expects," "intends," "plans," "anticipates," "believes," "estimates," "predicts," or "potential" or the negative of these words and phrases or similar words or phrases which are predictions of or indicate future events or trends and which do not relate solely to historical matters. Forward-looking statements involve known and unknown risks, uncertainties, assumptions and contingencies, many of which are beyond our control, and may cause actual results to differ significantly from those expressed in any forward-looking statement. All forward-looking statements reflect our good faith beliefs, assumptions, and expectations, but they are not guarantees of future performance. We caution investors not to unduly rely on any forward-looking statements. The forward-looking statements speak only as of the date of this press release.
