SCHAUMBERG, Ill. — Resurging new car sales have driven auto loan balances at all financial services providers to their highest point in the last seven years, according to the latest Experian data.
Experian Automotive released its third-quarter report that shows outstanding balances on automotive loans reached $782.9 billion at the end of the third quarter, up $103 billion from Q3 2012 — a record high since the company began publicly reporting the data seven years ago.
The finding corresponds with CUNA Mutual Group's latest Trends Report, which shows
On the repayment front, 30-day delinquencies were down 3.4% over last year according to Experian, dipping to 2.58% in Q3 2013 from 2.67% in Q3 2012. Sixty-day delinquencies remained flat.
"The combination of higher loan balances and relatively flat loan delinquencies is good news for everyone connected to the automotive industry," said Melinda Zabritski, senior director of automotive lending for Experian Automotive. "The availability of credit, combined with consumers' continued strong performance repaying their loans, has a positive spiral effect. It allows lenders to slowly but surely take on additional risk while providing more access to loans and paving the way for higher auto sales."
California is showing the fastest percentage growth year over year (up 29.3%), followed by Texas (up 26.3%) and Nevada (up 26%). States with the slowest growth rates year over year included Hawaii (up 12.4%), Wyoming (up 12.3%) and Michigan (up 6.8%).
