SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Stringent credit availability continues to thaw as Experian Automotive found the penetration of loans to subprime and deep subprime buyers rose during the first quarter.

According to data released Thursday, Experian discovered the share of loans to credit-challenged new-vehicle shoppers grew by 11.1 percent in the first quarter compared to the same quarter a year ago.

The share of loans to non-prime customers rose from 9.81 percent to 10.57 percent. For subprime customers, share of loans jumped from 5.68 percent to 6.16 percent, while share of loans to deep-subprime customers rose from 1.38 percent to 2.00 percent.

Experian indicated its findings also showed that it was easier to obtain a new vehicle loan in the first quarter.

The average credit score for a new vehicle loan was 766, compared with 776 during the first quarter of last year. This quarter's score of 766 marks the lowest average for a new-vehicle loan since the fourth quarter of 2008, when the average was also 766.

To recap, the company defines the credit spectrum as:

Super Prime

Scorex Plus: 740 plus

VantageScore: 801-990

Prime

Scorex Plus: 680-739

Vantage Score: 701-800

Non-Prime

Scorex Plus: 620-679

VantageScore: 641-700

Subprime

Scorex Plus: 550-619

VantageScore: 601-640

Deep subprime

Scorex Plus: less than 550

VantageScore: 501-600

"As the automotive credit market continues to stabilize, lenders are showing a higher tolerance for risk," noted Melinda Zabritski, Experian's director of automotive credit.

"Thirty-day delinquencies are at their lowest point since Q4 2008, giving lenders a little more leeway in their loan decisions," Zabritski continued.

"Additionally, with lower average scores for new-vehicle loans and more loan activity for credit-challenged customers, it is easier to find a loan now than at any time in the past 30 months," she went on to say.

Experian's analysis also revealed the dollar amount of automotive loans that were 30- or 60-days delinquent dropped from nearly $20 billion in the first quarter of 2010 to $16 billion in the first quarter of this year.

Specifically, Experian's latest report verified that 30-day delinquencies dropped by 7.95 percent over the previous year to 2.52 percent, while 60-day delinquencies dropped by nearly 13.45 percent to 0.68 percent.

In other findings, Experian said:

—The average credit score for used-vehicle customers in the first quarter was 663, down two points from 665 during the same time last year.

—The average loan amount for a new vehicle was up $8, from $25,396 in the first quarter of 2010 to $25,404.

—The average loan amount for a used vehicle jumped $397 from $16,239 to $16,636.

—The average loan term has increased by a full month, jumping to 63 months for new vehicles and 58 months for used units.

Editor's Note: More details about used-vehicle lending as well as rankings of the top 20 lenders as determined by Experian will be available in Tuesday's edition of SubPrime News Update.