Inside Autonomy’s $25M funding, expansion plans

Electric vehicle subscription company Autonomy will double the size of its fleet and expand beyond Tesla vehicles after securing a $25 million investment. The loan from SR Alternative Credit was arranged by Finacity Corp. , according to Autonomy. The funds will be used to purchase 1,250 vehicles for Autonomy’s EV fleet and allow the company to buy cars from Volvo and Polestar in addition to Tesla. Autonomy offers monthly subscriptions for a range of vehicles that have been limited to select Tesla models before the investment, founder and Chief Executive Scott Painter told Auto Finance News . Monthly subscription plans and costs vary but range from $390 to $590 per month for a Tesla Model 3, for example. The company has about 800 cars on hand and will go to more than 2,000 with the additional funding, Painter said. There is a waitlist for subscriptions since Autonomy’s utilization rate hovers near 95%, he added. Repeat customers are common and subscribers keep the car for two years on average. Weighing residuals Adding more brands also will help Autonomy better navigate the volatility of EV residual values, Painter said. “Everything that we've done has been focused on the Tesla product lineup; there's good and bad with that,” he said. “We’ve had reliable cars [with] mass market appeal. ... [But Tesla] discounts undermine the residual value and make financing the asset very tough.” In fact, large price cuts on Tesla models in 2023 prompted decreases at other automakers and challenged the wider market. EV prices remain below levels prior to those price cuts in 2023 but have fluctuated. Exponential Used Electric Vehicle Index [caption id="attachment_58356922" align="aligncenter" width="2560"] The Exponential Used Electric Vehicle Index tracks the wholesale price of used, light-duty EVs in operation or awaiting sale. (Chart/Auto Finance News)[/caption] The average transaction price of a new EV in October was $59,125, up 2.3% YoY and higher than the industry average of $49,766, according to Nov. 12 data from Cox Automotive . By comparison, Tesla’s ATP in October declined 5.5% YoY to $53,526. “The impact of those residual value wobbles is profound. Now a lot of that has settled down,” Painter said. “The way that we're solving that is working with EV manufacturers. ... We’re seeing OEMs willing to provide residual value guarantees.” “The impact of those residual value wobbles is profound. Now a lot of that has settled down." -- Scott Painter, CEO, Autonomy Autonomy is also navigating the elimination of the federal EV tax credit , he said. “The consumer tax credit was something that we were able to harvest,” he said. “We've got to offset for that, [which] can ladder up to almost 10% of the vehicle. We’re finding that even though those federal tax incentives may not be there, there are still state incentives and other things dealers and OEMs are willing to do.” Fleet diversification Diversifying the fleet mix beyond Tesla helped Autonomy secure funding and focus on growth, Painter said, noting that the company is looking at additional financing and expansion down the road. Autonomy operates in Arizona, California, Florida, North Carolina, New York, Texas and Washington. The company follows EV registrations volume to identify markets ripe for EV subscriptions, Painter said, noting that Autonomy has cars on the road in 35 states. EV registrations tend to be highest in California, Florida, Texas and Washington, according to the U.S. Department of Energy . “For the first time, we're starting to see EV registrations in the Midwest peak above 1%, which is encouraging,” he said.

Federal Reserve announces emergency meeting on auto lending regulations • Click for details

MARKET SNAPSHOT

Capital & Funding

Inside Autonomy’s $25M funding, expansion plans

Related Posts

Lenders eye expanded leasing options as affordability challenges grow

Forward-flow picks up steam as private investors eye auto finance

Dealers fight growing transport fraud, when scammers impersonate shipping companies

Auto finance dealer strategies evolve as profitability tightens in 2026

Bank of America consumer vehicle net charge-offs tick down

CarMax Auto Finance originations down 1.5%

Wells Fargo Auto originations soar 110% YoY

Chase Auto originations down 3% YoY

Daily Intelligence Brief

Sponsored

Why credit unions give dealers an edge in today’s auto market

Driving better decision-making across auto finance operations with SAS

Auto finance’s first line of defense: Raising the standard in integrated software partnerships and data strategy

Driving Innovation in Automotive Refunds: How Onbe and Allied Solutions Are Modernizing the Payment Experience

Navigating the Margin Squeeze: EVs, Tariffs & Pricing — A Q&A with Earnix

Enhancing credit approaches to boost conversion and dealer loyalty

Tesla announces new fleet financing program

About

Company

Daily Newsletter