RANCHO CUCAMONGA, Calif. – California credit unions participating in Credit Union Direct Lending rank as the third largest lender in the state, according to information obtained by CUDL. CU Direct Corp., which administers the CUDL program, compared DMV lienholder information from AutoCount USA, a Florida-based statistical data reporting service, with CUDL system reports. Findings showed the monthly average of California credit unions during the past six months has been ranked as high as second and not lower than fourth among the states top auto lenders. California CUs participating in CUDL have consistently held the third position ahead of Chase Auto Finance, WS Financial and American Honda Finance Corp. Other lenders that have consistently ranked in AutoCount's monthly top five spots include Ford Motor Credit, Toyota Financial Services, and GMAC. Daimler Chrysler, AmeriCredit, and Volkswagen Credit Inc. have also appeared in the top 10 spots in the last six months. The CUDL program currently includes 1,644 car dealerships and 225 participating credit unions in California, Nevada, Texas, Oregon, Washington, Massachusetts, New Hampshire and Rhode Island. In 2001, CU Direct Corp. funded 140,294 contracts for more than $2.5 billion in CU auto financing.