The average auto debt per borrower should keep on increasing in 2016, to an estimated $18,509 for the fourth quarter of 2016, TransUnion said in a forecast earlier this week.
“Our projection is, the balance growth is going to be a little more than $500, or about a 3% increase,” said Jason Laky, senior vice president and automotive business leader. “Consumers are employed, and they are confident they are going to stay employed,” he told Auto Finance News.
The average balance per borrower is growing “a bit” faster than the number of borrowers because the mix of new vehicles is increasing, Laky said. “As new-car sales grow that number is larger, and the balance tends to be towards newer cars.”
TransUnion measures the average debt per borrower by taking the average outstanding balance for the entire auto finance industry, divided by the number of contracts.
