SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Experian Automotive's Q3 State of the
Automotive Finance Market Analysis showed an even higher majority of
used-vehicle buyers fall into subprime credit tiers.

The report released Tuesday indicated the total subprime
financing market for used vehicles in the third quarter increased 5.47 percent
year-over-year to 54.43 percent, up from 51.60 percent in the same period last
year.

Experian's analysis also determined that loans financed for
new vehicles to customers with nonprime, subprime or deep subprime credit
ratings increased to 24.84 percent in the third quarter, climbing from 21.87
percent a year earlier.

Furthermore, the company discovered new-vehicle leasing in
Q3 grew by 7.53 percent year-over-year.

Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit at Experian
Automotive, explained all of those trends are positives both for consumers who
fall into the subprime ranks as well as the dealers and OEMs that service them.

"With leasing showing a continued upward trend, and lenders
increasing their appetite for risk, consumers were in a good position to obtain
a vehicle during Q3," Zabritski said

"Expanding loans to lower-risk tiers opens the market for
more car shoppers, while an increase in leasing means it is easier for
consumers to get more vehicle for a lower monthly payment. Both of these trends
are positive signs of a strong and recovering auto finance market, which
ultimately benefits the consumer and the entire auto industry," Zabritski
continued.

The latest analysis also showed that for used-vehicle buyers
average consumer credit scores fell by eight points from 676 in the third
quarter of last year to 668 this past quarter. On the new-vehicle side, credit
scores dipped from 763 to 755 based on the same time comparison.

Meanwhile, the average amount financed and term lengths are
on the rise.

Experian found the average amount financed for a used
vehicle in the third quarter grew year-over-year from $17,359 to $17,577. The
new-vehicle level also climbed, ticking up from $25,873 to $25,963.

In the third quarter, the average used loan term ticked up
to 60 months from 59 months, the level spotted a year earlier. For new
contracts, the term moved up to 64 months from 63 months Experian reported for
the third quarter of last year.

Zabritski plans to share the entire Experian report during a
free Webinar on Thursday. Registration for the event can be completed here.


Normal
0
false
false
false
EN-US
X-NONE
X-NONE

/* Style Definitions */
table.MsoNormalTable
{mso-style-name:”Table Normal”;
mso-tstyle-rowband-size:0;
mso-tstyle-colband-size:0;
mso-style-noshow:yes;
mso-style-priority:99;
mso-style-qformat:yes;
mso-style-parent:””;
mso-padding-alt:0in 5.4pt 0in 5.4pt;
mso-para-margin-top:0in;
mso-para-margin-right:0in;
mso-para-margin-bottom:10.0pt;
mso-para-margin-left:0in;
line-height:115%;
mso-pagination:widow-orphan;
font-size:11.0pt;
font-family:”Calibri”,”sans-serif”;
mso-ascii-font-family:Calibri;
mso-ascii-theme-font:minor-latin;
mso-fareast-font-family:”Times New Roman”;
mso-fareast-theme-font:minor-fareast;
mso-hansi-font-family:Calibri;
mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin;}