Through August, 14.6 million loans were originated, the highest level since the same period in 2008, which garnered 14.8 million loans.
That data, culled from Equifax’s most current National Consumer Credit Trends Report, also found that balances through October increased 11% to $770 billion, from a low in April 2011. Also, through October, there were more than 58 million total existing auto loans, a 33-month high.
In the report, Equifax Chief Economist Amy Crews-Cutts said that a “decreasing amount of write-offs and severely derogative accounts paired with corresponding increases in the numbers of total originations and loan sizes” prompted the auto industry’s steady growth. “Sustained recent consumer demand for auto leasing, financing, and purchase has driven a return of this portfolio to pre-recession numbers more rapidly than any other lending sector,” she added.
Other notable stats from the report:
- Year-to-date new-car loans through August totaled $283 billion, the highest since $297.5 billion in 2006.
- August garnered a six-year high in average loan amount ―$19,492 ― topped only by the $20,291 from the same period in 2006.
- New auto loans funded by auto finance companies increased 31% in August to more than 1 million, from 717,600 during the recession low in August 2009.
Atlanta-based Equifax compiles data on more than 500 million consumers and 81 million businesses worldwide.
