Subject: Upstart Delivers Reservation and Deposit System...
SAN MATEO, Calif.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Feb. 21, 2024-- Upstart (NASDAQ: UPST), the leading artificial intelligence (AI) lending marketplace, today announced that Kia used Upstart Auto Retail Build & Price Reservations as the exclusive reservation and deposit system for the launch of the new Kia EV9 SUV in the United States. The feature was available to all Kia dealers across the U.S.

In addition to reserving and placing a deposit on an EV9 directly from a dealer’s website, Upstart Build & Price Reservations allowed customers to choose the trim, colors, and optional packages they wanted included with their vehicle. For Kia dealers, Build & Price Reservations made it easy to track demand for the EV9 and provided the information they needed to better understand and serve their customers.

This announcement seemed strange in that Upstart seems to be expanding beyond their core competency of AI-driven risk assessment. I would have thought that most of not all auto manufacturers already have their own "Build and price" webpage. Are Upstart having to do too much to gain auto loan market share? PGY is a direct competitor here.