DETROIT -

The growth in the subprime auto finance market has been as steep as it has been talked about — and it’s also something that Edmunds.com chief economist Lacey Plache says to keep an eye on.

However, she emphasized that we’re not yet at a tipping point, and this could be a plus for car sales.

In an Edmunds report authored by Plache, she said that “while the growth of subprime lending should be watched for signs of dangerous over-extension, we are not yet at the point where a substantial pullback by lenders is likely.”

Plache adds in the report: “That's good news for car sales, which should also continue to be strong.”

The analysis — titled  “What Car Shoppers Want Now” — and an accompanying news release provide a temperature check on today’s auto sales environment, including thoughts from Edmunds on why car buyers are getting their hands on pricier vehicles more easily these days,

According to Edmunds, the record-pace leasing numbers are playing a big role, along with cheaper credit and a handful of positive overall economic factors.

Edmunds counts economic trends like lower employment, consumer confidence in the economy and lower fuel prices among the drivers steering shoppers back to pricier rides, particularly trucks and SUVs.

And don’t expect this comeback to be short-lived.

“The cost-conscious, fuel-efficient mentality from the recession and early recovery years has faded,” said Plache.

“We expect these economic trends to continue into next year at least, so there’s every reason to believe that shopper preferences for larger and more expensive vehicles will continue along the same path that we’ve seen emerge in the past year or so,” she added.

And then there’s the whole financing ballgame.

Cheaper credit and the lease boom are among “the biggest factors that are making it easier for shoppers to afford more expensive vehicles,” Edmunds indicated.

In May, 9.5 percent of new-car buyers who used financing did so through a 0-percent loan, according to Edmunds. This reading marked an eight-month high.

Leasing, meanwhile, continues to skyrocket. Year-to-date new-vehicle lease penetration is above 28 percent, according to Edmunds, and is on track to an all-time annual high. 

In May, the average monthly payment on leased vehicles was $70 lower than the average on financed vehicles.

One twist to these findings that Edmunds discovered: while trucks and SUVs are getting a shot in the arm, the same can’t be said for the luxury market.  The majority of luxury segments have had relatively flat consumer appetite numbers the past two years.

“Today’s car shoppers are taking a step or two beyond the more financially conservative choices made in recent years, but we aren’t generally seeing the mainstream buyers reach into luxury the way we did before the economic crisis,” Plache said. “That was a time when many aspirational shoppers stretched their finances to get a high-status nameplate, now they are instead buying mainstream vehicles with tech options and creature comforts that allow them to spoil themselves just a little.”

However, Edmunds does note that luxury buyers have shifted toward the higher price points of the luxury spectrum, like mainstream buyers have done on the mainstream side.