Mumbai: Auto financiers are pushing for innovation in lending with a shift towards embedded finance and partnerships instead of typical EMI products, while global markets adopt integrated digital credit at the point of sale.While around eight in 10 new cars are being financed, car dealers sell based on on-road prices. Financing is a separate transaction.Speaking at the fifth Finance and Insurance Summit of the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) in Mumbai, Yes Bank Executive Director Rajan Paintal said there is a need to make car purchasing seamless.“Although the industry is providing auto loans as an installment product, we have not yet succeeded in developing an embedded product.” Paintal said that today the customer comes with complete information about the car and its characteristics, and the multiplicity of lenders delays the transaction.In developed markets, lenders and OEM captives routinely offer fully digital, embedded credit at the dealer or through an online configurator, with instant decision, e-sign and funding tied to the vehicle order. In contrast, India’s auto finance market continues to be dominated by conventional loans, with leasing accounting for about 1.5% and subscription for about 0.1% of the market. Pental urged the industry to move beyond ex-showroom pricing and offer plans designed for each pin code.Mahindra Finance MD and CEO Raul Rebelo said the industry has achieved scale and the gap between rural and urban sales is disappearing.FADA president CS Vigneshwar said the finance and insurance businesses are the “load-bearing walls” that are keeping auto dealerships viable. He said that in wholesale finance, dealers expect more transparent, demand-based funding and quick transmission of interest rate cuts. In retail finance, he said there is a need for more robust used-vehicle financing solutions and smoother reconciliation processes.