AI, data modeling paves way for truck financing, dealer ops

From inventory management to frictionless financing, AI-driven data models are now at the fingertips of truck dealers, lenders and fleet operators.  

Some 79% of financial services firms view AI as critical to their industry’s future, according to software provider Smarsh. The equipment management software market is projected to more than double to $18.9 billion by 2032 from $9.4 billion in 2023, according to a September report by research firm Global Market Insights.  

As commercial vehicle lenders look for practical ways to implement technology, using AI to help visualize data could set the stage for continued tech deployment, Jose Puente, co-founder of Atlanta-based fleet management software provider Motiva, said on Thursday during the virtual Commercial Vehicle Business Summit, hosted by Work Truck Solutions. 

“On the financing side, things that you can leverage are obviously your historical earnings or historical expense reports,” he said. “For example, you could say, ‘I’ve got a contract with this customer, and this is how much you’re spending and I’ve got a three-year contract.’ Those are the kind of data sets that aren’t necessarily available, but people need to build them in.” 

AI informing dealer decisions 

For dealers, combining inventory data with AI can be “hugely valuable” in terms of helping customers make more informed business decisions, Eric Foster, chief revenue officer at tech-focused business development and consulting firm BZDev, said during the event. 

“Oftentimes, I think we as human beings struggle to assess a lot of data, prioritize that data and make a good cost-benefit analysis,” he said. “AI, as long as it has access to the data, doesn’t really struggle with that so much. So, we built things like AI-powered search engines that can quickly look through inventory based on certain criteria.” 

Data analysis ultimately facilitates dealer sales as fleet owners choose vehicles to purchase based on several variables, including mileage, age, features and benefits, Foster said.  

He pointed out that data “can help you make a decision. Do I pay cash for this asset or am I best financing it? And it can help you quickly go through that decision tree and provide you with better information than you would be able to gather.”   

Accelerating dealer financing 

Lenders are investing in tech to meet consumers’ growing expectations of fast and frictionless financing.  

Working with these lenders is critical for commercial vehicle dealers to meet this demand, Jeff Risner, co-founder and business development director at Trupropel, a software provider serving automotive industries, told Equipment Finance News during a Q&A. 

Dealers must “consume [borrowers’] information and efficiently get it to the right finance options, and hopefully they’re using AI to come back and auto-generate responses,” he said. “The quicker you give the consumer those bullets and those choices, the quicker they’re wrapping their head around, ‘Okay, cool. This one fits best.’” 

Obtaining necessary documents and borrowers’ information early in the sales process also helps accelerate the financing process, Motiva’s Puente told EFN. 

The third annual Equipment Finance Connect at the JW Marriott Nashville in Nashville, Tenn., on May 14-15, 2025, is the only event that brings together equipment dealers and lenders to share insights, attend discussions on crucial industry topics and network with peers. Learn more about the event and register here.