New-Car Interest Rates Climb Fastest on West Coast
New-car interest rates in the West have increased 112 basis points in the past year, the biggest jump for any region, according to Informa Research Services.
Informa analyzes auto loan interest rates by region and credit tier for current-year and 1-year-old models.
The national average interest rate for auto loans in the West increased to 5.41% on Dec. 7, from 4.30% in December 2017.
Interest rates in the Northwest have also climbed more than 100 basis points in the past year, to 5.51% from 4.50%, according to Informa.
The Southeast had the lowest interest rate rise on new cars — a 60-basis-point bump to 5.28%, year over year.
Auto loan interest rates in the Northeast were the only ones that remained below 5% as of Dec. 7. On average, new-car buyers in the Northeast are paying 4.86% interest on their purchases this month, according to Informa.
Interest rates for 1-year-old used cars follow the same regional pattern, with biggest year-over-year increases in the West and Northwest.
