Vancouver, British Columbia--(Newsfile Corp. - August 4, 2026) - OCAL Financial Inc. (TSXV: OCAL) ("OCAL" or the "Company") today set out how its model differs from the other ways Canadians buy and finance a vehicle, and why the Company believes an integrated approach is the more durable way to build a business in this market.

The way Canadians shop for vehicles has changed. Published industry data shows that most consumers now prefer to arrange financing online, and that a large share of every vehicle sold in the country is financed rather than paid for in cash. The used-vehicle market alone runs into the tens of billions of dollars a year and continues to grow. Yet most of the industry still runs on physical lots, owned inventory and in-person finance offices. That gap, between how people want to buy and how the industry is set up to sell, is the opening OCAL was built to serve.

Three kinds of companies have tried to close that gap, and each solves only part of it. Online used-car retailers proved that people will buy a car from their phone, but they own their inventory and the reconditioning sites that go with it, which ties up large amounts of capital and leaves them exposed to swings in used-vehicle prices and to stock that ages on the balance sheet. Brokers keep overhead low, but they do not source the vehicle, hold the lender relationships, or handle delivery, so the customer experience breaks into pieces. Fintech lenders have strong digital tools for originating a loan, but they cannot find the right car, structure the deal to fit a particular lender, or get the vehicle to the customer.

OCAL is a licensed virtual dealership that brings those strengths into one company: the convenience of an online retailer, the light balance sheet of a broker, and the origination tools of a fintech, together with the vehicle sourcing and home delivery that none of them provide end to end. Financing, sourcing, delivery and the technology that connects them all sit under one roof and feed one data set.

For the customer, that integration removes the parts of car buying people dislike most. There is no back-and-forth on a lot, no separate trip to a finance office, and no starting over when the online research turns into an in-person visit. A customer applies once, receives a real approval, chooses a vehicle to fit it, and has that vehicle delivered. The Company believes a cleaner experience is not only easier to sell but easier to repeat, and that shows up in the share of OCAL customers who come back or refer someone else.

For investors, the part that matters is what that integration produces over time. Every deal OCAL completes feeds a single, growing data set that sharpens the next lender match, the next pricing decision and the next sourcing choice. Because the automation is built into how the business runs rather than added on top, OCAL can take on more volume without adding cost at the same rate. That is the kind of operating leverage a single-feature competitor finds hard to copy, and it improves the more the Company does.

It is also a position that is difficult to assemble piece by piece. A competitor can copy a website, a rate table or a call script, but reproducing licensed operations, deep lender relationships, an auction sourcing network and a single system that ties them together takes years and capital. OCAL already runs all of it, and every month of operating history and every additional lender relationship widens that gap.

OCAL intends to extend this model into more Canadian provinces and, over time, into the United States, subject to the licences and approvals each market requires. The Company believes the integrated model is not only a better experience for the customer but a more defensible position as the market keeps moving online.

"What is hard to copy is not any one feature. It is that origination, credit routing, sourcing and delivery all run in the same system, feeding the same data," said Matthew Friesen, Chairman of OCAL. "That advantage does not stand still. It gets stronger every time we fund a deal."

"We kept the parts of online retail, broking and fintech that work, and left out the parts that do not scale," added Mr. Friesen. "The result is a business that grows on technology and relationships, not on real estate and inventory."

About OCAL

OCAL Financial Inc. is an asset-light, AI-native virtual automotive dealership and vehicle-finance platform. Operating remotely and licensed in British Columbia and Alberta, OCAL moves customers from application to approval, vehicle matching, digital contracting and delivery in a single workflow. Rather than carrying owned inventory, OCAL sources each vehicle only after a customer is approved, drawing on the OPENLANE auction network and select partners. OCAL earns revenue from vehicle sales and related finance and protection products, and does not hold consumer loans or assume credit-default risk. Its technology stack, which includes workflow orchestration, a lender-routing credit-intelligence system, voice AI, and a centralized business-intelligence system, is built specifically for automotive transactions.

To learn more about OCAL, visit www.ocalfinancial.ca.

Cautionary Notes

This news release does not constitute an offer to sell, or a solicitation of an offer to buy, any securities in the United States. The Company's securities have not been and will not be registered under the United States Securities Act of 1933, as amended (the "U.S. Securities Act") or any state securities laws and may not be offered or sold within the United States or to U.S. Persons unless registered under the U.S. Securities Act and applicable state securities laws or an exemption from such registration is available.

Completion of the transaction is subject to a number of conditions, including but not limited to, Exchange acceptance and if applicable pursuant to Exchange Requirements, majority of the minority shareholder approval. Where applicable, the transaction cannot close until the required shareholder approval is obtained. There can be no assurance that the transaction will be completed as proposed or at all. Investors are cautioned that, except as disclosed in the management information circular or filing statement to be prepared in connection with the transaction, any information released or received with respect to the transaction may not be accurate or complete and should not be relied upon. Trading in the securities of a capital pool company should be considered highly speculative. TSX Venture Exchange Inc. has in no way passed upon the merits of the proposed transaction and has neither approved nor disapproved the contents of this press release.

Cautionary Note Regarding Forward-Looking Information

This news release contains "forward-looking statements" and "forward-looking information" within the meaning of applicable securities laws (collectively, "forward-looking statements") within the meaning of Canadian securities legislation. Forward-looking information generally refers to information about an issuer's business, capital, or operations that is prospective in nature, and includes future-oriented financial information about the issuer's prospective financial performance or financial position. Forward-looking statements are often identified by the words "may", "would", "could", "should", "will", "intend", "plan", "anticipate", "believe", "estimate", "expect" or similar expressions and includes information regarding: the Company's business plans, technology development, and the expansion into Ontario, Quebec, and the U.S. market (Washington, Arizona, and Nevada); and, where applicable, proposed acquisitions and related appointments. To develop the forward-looking information in this news release, the Company made certain material assumptions, including but not limited to: prevailing market conditions; general business, economic, competitive, political and social uncertainties; delay or failure to receive board, shareholder or regulatory approvals; and the ability of the Company to execute and achieve its business objectives. There can be no assurance that such statements will prove to be accurate, as actual results and future events could differ materially from those anticipated in such statements. Accordingly, readers should not place undue reliance on forward-looking statements. Actual results may vary from the forward-looking information in this news release due to certain material risk factors. These risk factors include, but are not limited to: adverse market conditions; changes in general economic, business and political conditions; changes in applicable laws and regulations; compliance with extensive government regulation; reliance on key and qualified personnel; risks associated with the technology industry in general; and the risk factors disclosed under the heading "Risk Factors" in the Filing Statement. The foregoing list of material risk factors and assumptions is not exhaustive. The Company assumes no obligation to update or revise the forward-looking information in this news release, unless it is required to do so under Canadian securities legislation.

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