Lifting the Hood on New Auto Data
Cox Automotive reported that auto loan performance remained a mixed bag in September. Delinquency rates continued to rise but are not translating to higher defaults rates. The share of loans delinquent for 60 or more days increased for the fifth month in a row in September and was up sharply on a year-over-year basis. Moreover, the percentage of loans severely delinquent edged upward in September, reaching the highest rate for this time of year in at least 17 years. The same was true of the subprime segment.
On the good news side of September’s ledger, Cox reported that loan defaults fell by nearly 10 percent during the month, driven by improvement in the subprime segment. Still, both overall and subprime defaults exceeded their year-ago rates.
Meanwhile, there was a small bit of good news for the prospective car buyer. Cox’s Dealertrack Credit Availability Index showed modest improvement in September. The index is derived from Dealertrack credit application data and accounts for factors such as approval rate, subprime share, equity position and yield spreads, among others. Although the index increased by 0.2 percent in September, it is nearly 6 percent below its level at this time last year.
October 18th, 2023
