Auto rejection rates held steady from a year ago as the rate of applications slowed in the Federal Reserve’s latest consumer access survey.
The share of respondents surveyed in June who indicated they were rejected for an auto loan landed at 6.7% in June, flat year over year, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s Survey of Consumer Expectations Survey published today.
The auto loan rejection fell from 10.8% in February when the previous survey was published. The survey comprised of more than 895 respondents.
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Updated rejection rate data follows positive consumer credit access indicators from the past month.
Big Wheels’ Auto Finance Composite Index rose 13.1% YoY and the industrywide auto loan approval rate rose 150 basis points YoY to 73.8%, according to Cox Automotive data published July 13.
But the share of subprime borrowers has declined for three consecutive months to 16.6%, according to Cox, and retailers such as Morris Smith Auto Group previously told Auto Finance News it reported an increase in subprime auto rejections since April.
Anderson Brothers Bank’s auto approval rates also fell as of this month to 25%, down from 32% in July 2025, Vice President of Dealer Services Risk Management Jody Lambert told AFN.
The Mullins, S.C.-based bank’s approval rates fell in part because more consumers were applying for $30,000 to $50,000 loans on used vehicles that surpass their affordability range, he said.
“We see applications we have to decline based on debt-to-income and payment-to-income,” Lambert said, noting the bank’s average booked loans are about $25,000.
Industrywide, the rate of auto loan applications in the past 12 months from surveyed respondents fell to 12.03% in June, down from 13.5% in June 2025, but up from 10.65% in February, according to the Fed.
Fewer applications, rejections predicted
Meanwhile, the Fed’s surveyed respondents said they expect better approval results in the next year.
About 10.34% of June respondents said they expected to apply for an auto loan in the next 12 months, down from 10.52% a year prior and 10.78% in February.
And fewer respondents expected to be rejected for auto loans in the next year, according to the survey. About 28.85% of respondents said they face likely rejections, compared with 30.6% of respondents in June 2025 and 32.07% in February.
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— Additional reporting by Amanda Harris
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