SCHAUMBURG, Ill. -

The surge of non-prime and subprime loans and leases helped to push Experian Automotive’s total open balance reading above the trillion dollar mark for the first time.

According to the most recent State of the Automotive Finance Market report released Thursday, total open balances jumped 11.1 percent in the first quarter of 2016 as the figure reached $1.005 trillion, up from $905 billion in Q1 2015.

The overall climb came in part because the volume of vehicle loans and leases held by non-prime and subprime consumers increased by 9.5 percent and 10.9 percent, respectively.

Also propelling Experian’s figure was how open leases grew by 27.55 percent to an all-time high of $76.9 billion, up from $60.1 billion the previous year.

“Automotive financing certainly has started off the year with a bang, seeing steady growth in balances and loan volumes throughout the first quarter,” said Melinda Zabritski, senior director of automotive finance for Experian.

“With more and more consumers relying on financing, it is important for lenders to keep a close eye on delinquency trends to ensure the market remains healthy,” Zabritski continued. “Likewise, consumers need to continue making their monthly payments on time to keep affordable financing options open and available.”

Findings from the report also show that while there were increases in both 30- and 60-day delinquency rates, the overall percentage of total delinquent loans remains relatively low when compared to pre-recession levels.

In Q1 2016, the percentage of loans and leases considered 30-days delinquent was 2.1 percent, up from 2.02 percent in Q1 2015.

Additionally, the percentage of loans and leases considered 60-days delinquent grew from 0.57 percent to 0.61 percent over the same time period.

Some additional insights from the Q1 2016 report:

—Prime consumer loans and leases increased by 8.9 percent.

—Finance companies and credit unions saw the largest growth in loan and lease market share, growing 25.6 percent and 15.9 percent, respectively.

—Banks continued to hold the top position in automotive loan and lease volume, growing 7.9 percent over the previous year to reach $349 billion in market share.