More On:

• I have some concerns about jumping on this bandwagon. Calculations show that a hybrid owner will not save enough money at the pump to recoup the higher cost of the hybrid vehicle. Plus, some small and midsize vehicles get better fuel economy than some of the hybrids. I think "fuel economy" rather than "hybrid" should be the criteria for a better loan rate. Is anyone using this type of calculation?

  Carla Swift

  Reply

   

   

   

• Good article, and a great opportunity for credit unions to attract new borrowers (and not just Gen Y’s).
  
  As the author of the study Filene published last year, Finding Sustainable Profits: Green Lending in Credit Unions, I found a number of credit unions across the U.S. offering similar loan programs (33% of all respondents). Large and small credit unions, community and non-community, consistently reported that their green auto loans are profitable.
  
  Interestingly, in the interviews conducted for this study, credit unions offering green vehicle loans stressed that their primary motivation was not simply to generate more loan demand (although that didn’t hurt). While the economics were important, they also recognized that they were helping their members save money at the gas pump. Helping to lower U.S. oil consumption (and dependence on foreign sources) is also patriotic.
  
  Green cars loans is another example of the ways credit unions are serving their members and the nation.
  
  W. Robert Hall, President
  
  Hall Associates Consulting, LLC
  
  www.HallAssociatesLLC.com
  
  (703) 338-8075
  
  

  Bob Hall

  Reply