Form 10-K SANTANDER DRIVE AUTO For: Dec 31 Filed by: Drive Auto Receivables Trust 2021-3

UNITED STATES

SECURITIES AND EXCHANGE COMMISSION

Washington, D.C. 20549

FORM 10-K

(Mark One)

For the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021.

or

For the transition period from                      to                     .

DRIVE AUTO RECEIVABLES TRUST 2021-3

(Exact name of issuing entity as specified in its charter)

Commission file number of the issuing entity: 333-228364-19

Central Index Key Number of issuing entity: 0001890433

SANTANDER DRIVE AUTO RECEIVABLES LLC

(Exact name of depositor as specified in its charter)

Commission file number of depositor: 333-228364

Central Index Key Number of depositor: 0001383094

SANTANDER CONSUMER USA INC.

(Exact name of sponsor as specified in its charter)

Central Index Key Number of sponsor: 0001540151

Delaware

(State or other jurisdiction of incorporation or organization of the issuing entity)

86-6458173

(I.R.S. Employer Identification No. of the issuing entity)

c/o Santander Drive Auto Receivables LLC

1601 Elm Street, Suite 800

Dallas, Texas 75201

(Address of principal executive offices)

(214) 292-1930

(Telephone number, including area code)

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 (b) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934: None

Securities Registered Pursuant to Section 12 (g) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934: None

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is a well-known seasoned issuer, as defined in Rule 405 of the Securities Act.

    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark if the registrant is not required to file reports pursuant to Section 13 or Section 15(d) of the Act.

    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant (1) has filed all reports required to be filed by Section 13 or 15 (d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934 during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to file such reports), and (2) has been subject to such filing requirements for the past 90 days.    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has submitted electronically every Interactive Data File required to be submitted pursuant to Rule 405 of Regulation S-T (§232.405 of this chapter) during the preceding 12 months (or for such shorter period that the registrant was required to submit such files).    Yes  ☒    No  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a large accelerated filer, an accelerated filer, a non-accelerated filer, a smaller reporting company, or an emerging growth company. See the definitions of “large accelerated filer,” “accelerated filer,” “smaller reporting company,” and “emerging growth company” in Rule 12b-2 of the Exchange Act.

If an emerging growth company, indicate by check mark if the registrant has elected not to use the extended transition period for complying with any new or revised financial accounting standards provided pursuant to Section 13(a) of the Exchange Act.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant has filed a report on and attestation to its management’s assessment of the effectiveness of its internal control over financial reporting under Section 404(b) of the Sarbanes-Oxley Act (15 U.S.C. 7262(b)) by the registered public accounting firm that prepared or issued its audit report.  ☐

Indicate by check mark whether the registrant is a shell company (as defined in Rule 12b-2 of the Act).    Yes  ☐    No  ☒

State the aggregate market value of the voting and non-voting common equity held by non-affiliates computed by reference to the price at which the common equity was last sold, or the average bid and asked price of such common equity, as of the last business day of the registrant’s most recently completed second fiscal quarter.

Not applicable

DOCUMENTS INCORPORATED BY REFERENCE

List hereunder the following documents if incorporated by reference and the Part of the Form 10-K (e.g. Part I, Part II, etc.) into which the document is incorporated: (1) Any annual report to security holders; (2) Any proxy information statement; and (3) Any prospectus filed pursuant to Rule 424(b) or (c) under the Securities Act of 1933. The listed documents should be clearly described for identification purposes (e.g., annual report to security holders for fiscal year ended December 24, 1980).

None

PART I

The following items have been omitted in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10-K:

Item 1B. Unresolved Staff Comments

Nothing to report.

Item 4. Mine Safety Disclosures

Not applicable.

Substitute information provided in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10-K:

Item 1112(b) of Regulation AB. Significant Obligors of Pool Assets (Financial Information)

Nothing to report.

Item 1114(b)(2) of Regulation AB. Credit Enhancement and Other Support, Except for Certain Derivatives Instruments (Information Regarding Significant Enhancement Providers)

Nothing to report.

Item 1115(b) of Regulation AB. Certain Derivatives Instruments (Financial Information)

Nothing to report.

Item 1117 of Regulation AB. Legal Proceedings

Nothing to report.

2

PART II

The following items have been omitted in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10-K:

Item 9B. Other Information

None.

Item 9C. Disclosure Regarding Foreign Jurisdictions that Prevent Inspections

Not applicable.

3

PART III

The following items have been omitted in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10-K:

Substitute information provided in accordance with General Instruction J to Form 10-K:

Item 1119 of Regulation AB. Affiliations and Certain Relationships and Related Transactions

Information required by Item 1119 of Regulation AB has been omitted from this report on Form 10-K in reliance on the Instruction to Item 1119.

Item 1122 of Regulation AB. Compliance with Applicable Servicing Criteria

Each of Santander Consumer USA Inc. and Wilmington Trust, National Association (each, a “Servicing Participant”) have been identified by the issuing entity as parties participating in the servicing function with respect to the pool assets held by the issuing entity. Each of the Servicing Participants has completed a report on an assessment of compliance with the servicing criteria applicable to it (each, a “Report on Assessment”), which Reports on Assessment are attached as exhibits to this Form 10-K. In addition, each of the Servicing Participants has provided an attestation report (each, an “Attestation Report”) by one or more registered public accounting firms, which reports are also attached as exhibits to this Form 10-K.

None of the Reports on Assessment or the related Attestation Reports has identified any material instances of noncompliance with the servicing criteria described in the related Report on Assessment as being applicable to such Servicing Participant.

Item 1123 of Regulation AB. Servicer Compliance Statements

Santander Consumer USA Inc. has been identified by the issuing entity as the servicer with respect to the asset pool held by the issuing entity. Santander Consumer USA Inc. has completed a statement of compliance with applicable servicing criteria (a “Compliance Statement”) signed by an authorized officer. The Compliance Statement is attached as an exhibit to this Form 10-K.

4

PART IV

(a)(1)    Not Applicable.

(a)(2)    Not Applicable.

(a)(3)    See Item 15(b) below.

The exhibits listed below are either included or incorporated by reference as indicated:

5

None.

Supplemental information to be Furnished With Reports Filed Pursuant to Section 15(d) of the Act by Registrants Which Have Not Registered Securities Pursuant to Section 12 of the Act

No annual report, proxy statement, form of proxy or other proxy soliciting material has been sent to certificateholders, and the registrant does not presently contemplate sending any such materials subsequent to the filing of this report.

6

SIGNATURES

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 13 or 15(d) of the Securities Exchange Act of 1934, the registrant has duly caused this report to be signed on its behalf by the undersigned, thereunto duly authorized.

Date: March 31, 2022

7

Exhibit 31.1

CERTIFICATION

I, Corey Henry, certify that:

1.    I have reviewed this report on Form 10-K and all reports on Form 10-D required to be filed in respect of the period covered by this report on Form 10-K of Drive Auto Receivables Trust 2021-3 (the “Exchange Act periodic reports”);

2.    Based on my knowledge, the Exchange Act periodic reports, taken as a whole, do not contain any untrue statement of a material fact or omit to state a material fact necessary to make the statements made, in light of the circumstances under which such statements were made, not misleading with respect to the period covered by this report;

3.    Based on my knowledge, all of the distribution, servicing and other information required to be provided under Form 10-D for the period covered by this report is included in the Exchange Act periodic reports;

4.    Based on my knowledge and the servicer compliance statement required in this report under Item 1123 of Regulation AB, and except as disclosed in the Exchange Act periodic reports, the servicer has fulfilled its obligations under the servicing agreement in all material respects; and

5.    All of the reports on assessment of compliance with servicing criteria for asset-backed securities and their related attestation reports on assessment of compliance with servicing criteria for asset-backed securities required to be included in this report in accordance with Item 1122 of Regulation AB and Exchange Act Rules 13a-18 and 15d-18 have been included as an exhibit to this report, except as otherwise disclosed in this report. Any material instances of noncompliance described in such reports have been disclosed in this report on Form 10-K.

In giving the certifications above, I have reasonably relied on information provided to me by the following unaffiliated parties: Wilmington Trust, National Association.

Exhibit 33.1

Management’s Assessment of Compliance with SEC Regulation AB Servicing Criteria

Appendix A

The Transactions in the Platform include the following:

APPENDIX B

SERVICING CRITERIA TO BE ADDRESSED IN SERVICER’S ASSESSMENT OF COMPLIANCE

App B-1

App B-2

App B-3

App B-4

Exhibit 33.2

Management Assessment Report

Management of Wilmington Trust National Association (the Company) is responsible for assessing compliance with the applicable servicing criteria set forth in Item 1122(d)(2)(ii), 1122(d)(2)(iv), 1122(d)(2)(v), 1122(d)(3)(i), 1122(d)(3)(ii), 1122(d)(3)(iii) and 1122(d)(3)(iv) of Regulation AB of the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the servicing of auto related asset-backed transactions initiated or amended for purposes of Regulation AB on or after January 1, 2006, for which the Company provides trustee services (the Platform) as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021. Management has determined that all other criteria set forth in Item 1122(d) are not applicable to the servicing activities performed by the Company with respect to the Platform. Appendix A to this report identifies the auto related asset-backed transactions defined by management as constituting the Platform.

The Company’s management has assessed the Company’s compliance with the applicable servicing criteria as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021. In making this assessment, management used the criteria set forth by the Securities and Exchange Commission in criterion (d)(2)(ii), (d)(2)(iv), (d)(2)(v), (d)(3)(i), (d)(3)(ii), (d)(3)(iii) and (d)(3)(iv) of Item 1122 of Regulation AB. The activities the Company performs with respect to the applicable 1122(d) servicing criteria are listed on the attached Appendix A.

With respect to the Company’s obligation to issue a notification to be included in the client’s Form 8-K. Form 10-D and Form 10-K under applicable servicing criterion 1122(d)(3)(i), there were no activities performed during the year ended December 31, 2021, with respect to the Platform, because there were no occurrences of events that would require the Company to perform such activities.

Based on such assessment, management believes that, as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021, the Company has complied in all material respects with the servicing criteria set forth in Item 1122(d)(2)(ii), 1122(d)(2)(iv), 1122(d)(2)(v), 1122(d)(3)(i), 1122(d)(3)(ii), 1122(d)(3)(iii) and 1122(d)(3)(iv) of Regulation AB of the Securities and Exchange Commission relating to the servicing of the Platform.PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, a registered public accounting firm, has issued an attestation report with respect to management’s assessment of compliance with the applicable servicing criteria as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021.

Appendix A

2021

Overview of Applicable Servicing Criteria and Associated Platform Transactions

ABS - Auto

Exhibit 34.1

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Management of

Santander Consumer USA Inc.

We have examined management’s assertion, included in the accompanying Management’s Assessment of Compliance with SEC Regulation AB Servicing Criteria, that Santander Consumer USA Inc. (the “Company”) complied with the servicing criteria set forth in Item 1122(d) of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation AB for all publicly registered transactions backed by auto loans for which Santander Consumer USA Inc. is the servicer (the “Platform”), as of December 31, 2021 and for the year then ended, excluding criteria 1122(d)(1)(iv), 1122(d)(2)(iii), 1122(d)(2)(vi), 1122(d)(4)(ix), 1122(d)(4)(x), 1122(d)(4)(xi), 1122(d)(4)(xii), and 1122(d)(4)(xiii), which the Company has determined are not applicable to the servicing activities performed by it with respect to the Platform. As described in management’s assertion, for servicing criteria 1122(d)(2)(i), 1122(d)(4)(i), 1122(d)(4)(ii), 1122(d)(4)(iv), 1122(d)(4)(vi), 1122(d)(4)(vii) and 1122(d)(4)(viii), the Company has engaged various vendors to perform the activities required by these servicing criteria. The Company has determined that these vendors are not considered “servicers” as defined in Item 1101(j) of Regulation AB, and the Company has elected to take responsibility for assessing compliance with the servicing criteria applicable to each vendor as permitted by Compliance and Disclosure Interpretation 200.06 of the SEC Division of Corporation Finance’s interpretations of the rules adopted under Regulation AB and the Securities Act and the Exchange Act (“Interpretation 200.06”). As permitted by Interpretation 200.06, the Company has asserted that it has policies and procedures in place designed to provide reasonable assurance that the vendors’ activities comply in all material respects with the servicing criteria applicable to each vendor. The Company is solely responsible for determining that it meets the SEC requirements to apply Interpretation 200.06 for the vendors and related criteria as described in its assertion, and we performed no procedures with respect to the Company’s determination of its eligibility to use Interpretation 200.06. Appendix A to management’s assertion identifies the individual asset-backed transactions and securities defined by management as constituting the Platform. Santander Consumer USA Inc.’s management is responsible for its assertion and for the Company’s compliance with the applicable servicing criteria. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on management’s assertion about the Company’s compliance with the applicable servicing criteria based on our examination.

Our examination was conducted in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Those standards require that we plan and perform the examination to obtain reasonable assurance about whether management’s assertion about compliance with the applicable servicing criteria is fairly stated, in all material respects, and, accordingly, included examining, on a test basis, evidence about the Company’s compliance with the applicable servicing criteria and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. Our examination included testing of selected asset-backed transactions and securities that comprise the Platform, testing of selected servicing activities related to the Platform, and determining whether the Company processed those selected transactions and performed those selected activities in compliance with the applicable servicing criteria. Our procedures were limited to the selected transactions and servicing activities performed by the Company during the period covered by this report. Our procedures were not designed to detect noncompliance arising from errors that may have occurred prior to or subsequent to our tests that may have affected the balances or amounts calculated or reported by the Company during the period covered by this report. We believe that our examination provides, and that the evidence we obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide, a reasonable basis for our opinion. Our examination does not provide a legal determination on the Company’s compliance with the servicing criteria.

In our opinion, management’s assertion that Santander Consumer USA Inc. complied with the aforementioned applicable servicing criteria as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021 for all publicly registered transactions backed by auto loans for which Santander Consumer USA Inc. is the servicer is fairly stated, in all material respects.

Dallas, Texas

March 30, 2022

Exhibit 34.2

Report of Independent Registered Public Accounting Firm

To the Management of Wilmington Trust National Association

We have examined management’s assertion, included in the accompanying Management Assessment Report, that Wilmington Trust National Association (the “Company”) complied with the servicing criteria set forth in Item 1122(d) of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation AB for Items 1122(d) (2)(ii), 1122(d)(2)(iv), 1122(d)(2)(v), 1122(d)(3)(i), 1122(d)(3)(ii), 1122(d)(3)(iii), and 1122(d)(3)(iv) of the Securities and Exchange Commission’s Regulation AB for the servicing of auto related asset-backed transactions initiated or amended for purposes of Regulation AB on or after January 1, 2006, for which the Company also provides trustee services (the “Platform”), as of December 31, 2021 and for the year then ended. Appendix A to Management’s Assessment Report identifies the individual asset-backed transactions and securities and applicable criteria defined by management as constituting the Platform. Wilmington Trust National Association’s management is responsible for its assertion and for the Company’s compliance with the applicable servicing criteria. Our responsibility is to express an opinion on management’s assertion about the Company’s compliance with the applicable servicing criteria based on our examination.

Our examination was conducted in accordance with the standards of the Public Company Accounting Oversight Board (United States) and in accordance with attestation standards established by the American Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Those standards require that we plan and perform the examination to obtain reasonable assurance about whether management’s assertion about compliance with the applicable servicing criteria is fairly stated, in all material respects, and, accordingly, included examining, on a test basis, evidence about the Company’s compliance with the applicable servicing criteria and performing such other procedures as we considered necessary in the circumstances. Our examination included testing of selected asset-backed transactions and securities that comprise the Platform, testing of selected servicing activities related to the Platform, and determining whether the Company processed those selected transactions and performed those selected activities in compliance with the applicable servicing criteria. Our procedures were limited to the selected transactions and servicing activities performed by the Company during the period covered by this report. Our procedures were not designed to detect noncompliance arising from errors that may have occurred prior to or subsequent to our tests that may have affected the balances or amounts calculated or reported by the Company during the period covered by this report. We believe that our examination provides, and that the evidence we obtained is sufficient and appropriate to provide, a reasonable basis for our opinion. Our examination does not provide a legal determination on the Company’s compliance with the servicing criteria.

In our opinion, management’s assertion that Wilmington Trust National Association complied with the aforementioned applicable servicing criteria as of and for the year ended December 31, 2021 for the Platform is fairly stated, in all material respects.

Buffalo, NY

February 25, 2022

PricewaterhouseCoopers LLP, 726 Exchange Street, Suite 1010, Buffalo, NY 14210

T: (716) 856 4650, www.pwc.com/us

Exhibit 35.1

SERVICER COMPLIANCE STATEMENT

In connection with the Annual Report on Form 10-K of Drive Auto Receivables Trust 2021-3 for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, (the “Report”), the undersigned, a duly authorized officer of Santander Consumer USA Inc. (the “Servicer”), does hereby certify and represent that: