CU Xpress Lease Inc., a leasing program for credit unions, said it has surpassed its monthly goal of $1 million in auto leasing activity nearly four months after launching.

The Hauppauge, N.Y.-based program made its debut with the $180 million Pinnacle Federal Credit Union in November. During the ensuing months, a dealer network was established and a training mechanism put into place to enable the credit union to process the volume of anticipated loans.

Because of Pinnacle's success, discussions are under way with other New Jersey credit unions to launch similar programs, said Domenick Pupo, CU Xpress director of business development. “We help fill a void when manufacturers and auto manufacturer finance arms step away from specific vehicles,” Dupo said. “This allows our credit union partners to offer lease specials to both our auto dealer network and their customer base, thereby making the credit union partners very relevant and visible.”

GrooveCar Inc., the credit union automotive buying and financing resource, signed a joint venture agreement with Fusion Auto Finance in 2006 to launch CU Xpress Lease.