Auto loan delinquencies remained virtually flat or down slightly in the third quarter despite increases in volume in all risk tiers, according to Experian Automotive.
Thirty-day delinquencies declined to 2.5% of the amount outstanding in the third quarter, from 2.7% a year earlier, Experian said on Wednesday. Sixty-day delinquencies were 0.73%, down by a barely measurable amount from 0.74% a year ago.
“What’s critical to this success is that consumers stay on top of their payments,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian’s senior director of automotive finance in a written statement. “If they can continue to manage their financial obligations and make timely payments, the automotive industry can continue to flourish and grow for quite some time.”
Outstanding balances reached $968 billion at the end of the third quarter, up 10.1% from the third quarter of 2014, according to Experian.
Within that total, the size of different risk tiers stayed virtually the same, Experian said. For instance, deep subprime loans (defined as VantageScore credit scores in the 300 to 500 range) accounted for 3.79% of outstandings in the third quarter, down from 3.84% a year ago. The super prime category (781-850) grew slightly to 20.82% of outstandings, from 20.6%, Experian said.
