DBRS Morningstar Assigns Provisional Ratings to DT Auto Owner Trust 2021-1

DBRS, Inc. (DBRS Morningstar) assigned provisional ratings to the following classes of notes (the Notes) issued by DT Auto Owner Trust 2021-1 (the Issuer or DTAOT 2021-1):

-- $186,000,000 Class A Notes at AAA (sf)
-- $38,000,000 Class B Notes at AA (sf)
-- $60,000,000 Class C Notes at A (sf)
-- $42,000,000 Class D Notes at BBB (sf)
-- $20,000,000 Class E Notes at BB (sf)

The ratings are based on DBRS Morningstar’s review of the following analytical considerations:

(1) Transaction capital structure, proposed ratings, and form and sufficiency of available credit enhancement.
-- Credit enhancement is in the form of overcollateralization, subordination, amounts held in the reserve fund, and excess spread. Credit enhancement levels are sufficient to support the DBRS Morningstar-projected cumulative net loss (CNL) assumption under various stress scenarios.
-- The ability of the transaction to withstand stressed cash flow assumptions and repay investors according to the terms in which they have invested. For this transaction, the ratings address the payment of timely interest on a monthly basis and principal by the legal final maturity date.

(2) DTAOT 2021-1 provides for Classes A, B, C, D, and E coverage multiples that are slightly below the DBRS Morningstar range of multiples set forth in the criteria for this asset class. DBRS Morningstar believes that this is warranted, given the magnitude of expected loss, company history, and structural features of the transaction.

(3) DBRS Morningstar's projected losses include an assessment of the impact of the Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19). While considerable uncertainty remains with respect to the intensity and duration of the pandemic, the DBRS Morningstar-projected CNL includes an assessment of the expected impact on consumer behavior. The DBRS Morningstar CNL assumption is 30.00% based on the expected Cut-Off Date pool composition.

(4) The assessment was guided by DBRS Morningstar’s set of macroeconomic scenarios for select economies related to the coronavirus, available in its “Global Macroeconomic Scenarios: December Update” commentary published on December 2, 2020. DBRS Morningstar initially published macroeconomic scenarios on April 16, 2020, and they have been regularly updated. The scenarios were updated on December 2, 2020, and are reflected in DBRS Morningstar's rating analysis. The assumptions consider the moderate macroeconomic scenario outlined in the commentary, with the moderate scenario serving as the primary anchor for current ratings. The moderate scenario factors in increasing success in containment during the first half of 2021, enabling the continued relaxation of restrictions.

(5) The transaction parties’ capabilities with regard to originations, underwriting, and servicing.

(6) The quality and consistency of historical static pool data for DriveTime originations and performance of the DriveTime auto loan portfolio.

(7) The legal structure and presence of legal opinions, which address the true sale of the assets to the Issuer, the nonconsolidation of the special-purpose vehicle with DriveTime, that the trust has a valid first-priority security interest in the assets, and the consistency with DBRS Morningstar's Legal Criteria for U.S. Structured Finance methodology.

The transaction represents a securitization of a portfolio of motor vehicle retail installment sales contracts originated by DriveTime Car Sales Company, LLC (the Originator). The Originator is a direct, wholly owned subsidiary of DriveTime. DriveTime is a leading used-vehicle retailer in the United States that focuses primarily on the sale and financing of vehicles to the subprime market.

The rating on the Class A Notes reflects 55.00% of initial hard credit enhancement provided by the subordinated Notes in the pool, the reserve account (1.50%), and overcollateralization (13.50%). The ratings on the Class B, C, D, and E Notes reflect 45.50%, 30.50%, 20.00%, and 15.00% of initial hard credit enhancement, respectively. Additional credit support may be provided from excess spread available in the structure.

ESG CONSIDERATIONS
A description of how DBRS Morningstar considers ESG factors within the DBRS Morningstar analytical framework and its methodologies can be found at: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357792.

Notes:
All figures are in U.S. dollars unless otherwise noted.

The principal methodology is Rating U.S. Retail Auto Loan Securitizations (May 13, 2020), which can be found on dbrsmorningstar.com under Methodologies & Criteria.

For more information regarding rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/357883.

For more information regarding structured finance rating methodologies and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/358308.

For more information regarding the structured finance rating approach and Coronavirus Disease (COVID-19), please see the following DBRS Morningstar press release: https://www.dbrsmorningstar.com/research/359905.

The rated entity or its related entities did participate in the rating process for this rating action. DBRS Morningstar had access to the accounts and other relevant internal documents of the rated entity or its related entities in connection with this rating action.

Please see the related appendix for additional information regarding the sensitivity of assumptions used in the rating process.

For more information on this credit or on this industry, visit www.dbrsmorningstar.com or contact us at [email protected].

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