Hanover, Md. — The National Automotive Finance Association announced that it has published its 2007 Non-Prime Automotive Financing Survey. One of the key findings is that delinquencies, both in dollars and number of accounts, have increased since last year.

The 2007 survey reports slight increases in portfolio dollars and number of accounts, as well as increases in dollars and number of accounts in originations.

For the past several years, the survey has included questions about how companies use the Internet. This year's survey shows increasing use of the Internet for price comparisons and Web processing, while use for all other categories has decreased, officials explained.

A record number, 28, companies participated in the survey, and almost three-quarters of them were independent finance companies and banks.

Respondents were divided into large (40,000 and more accounts) and small/medium (fewer than 40,000 accounts) segments to make the data relevant for companies of all sizes.

The survey, conducted by outside consultant BenchMark Consulting International, analyzes 2006 year-end data and compares to the survey completed the previous year to identify market trends.

The survey is distributed at no cost to the companies that participated and to those NAF Association members not eligible to participate in the survey. For others, the cost is $300. Visit www.nafassociation.com to order a copy online.

Editor's Note: Stay tuned to SubPrime Update and SubPrime Auto Finance News for full coverage of the association's study results.