US Auto Debt Reaches $1.71 Trillion as Subprime Delinquencies Stay High at 5.67%

1 articles · Updated · WOLF STREET · Aug 13

$1.71 trillion in auto loans and leases were outstanding in Q2, up $28 billion from Q1 and $58 billion from a year earlier, as higher vehicle prices kept pushing balances up.
$42,500 was the record average amount financed for a new vehicle, while average loan length was 66.5 months—back near decade-old norms rather than pandemic-era extremes.
54.6% of auto loans went to borrowers with credit scores of 720 or higher, while the subprime share fell to 15.6%, showing lenders still skewing toward stronger borrowers.
5.67% was the June 60-day-plus delinquency rate for subprime auto loans, down 64 basis points year over year but still elevated after dealer-lender failures including Tricolor.
7.25% was the auto-loan-to-disposable-income ratio in Q2, suggesting the overall household debt burden remains near the middle of its two-decade range even as subprime stress persists.

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