Automotive financial services firm NextGear Capital plans to open another office in Carmel and add 169 workers, the company announced Monday morning.

IBJ revealed the company's expansion plans in a Feb. 1 story. At the time, the company said it planned to add 225 jobs to its existing work force of 225.

The positions will be primarily customer service, information technology and administrative jobs.

The company, which provides financing programs for more than 17,000 automotive dealers, said it will invest $19.5 million to lease and renovate a 33,000-square-foot office at 11799 N. College Ave., in a building once occupied by life insurance giant Conseco Inc., which is now called CNO Financial Group Inc.

NextGear will maintain its existing office at 1320 City Center Drive in Carmel.

The company plans to use the new space to house its dealer services, auction services and business development center.

The Indiana Economic Development Corp. offered NextGear up to $1.3 million in conditional tax credits and up to $60,000 in training grants based on the company's job-creation plans.

NextGear Capital is the name adopted by the financial services division of Atlanta-based Manheim Inc. after it acquired Carmel-based Dealer Services Corp. last year.

NextGear officials told IBJ in February that it expects to grow its local employee base from 225 to 450 sometime over the next year through relocations from Atlanta and new hires.

Recent job openings in Carmel posted on the company’s web site include a multimedia web designer, a risk account manager, a risk administrator and an audit-reconciliation representative. The company also recently hired a vice president of industry relations.

NextGear Capital provides automotive financing options for more than 17,000 dealers and 1,000 auctions in the United States and Canada.