Within the auto lending sector, a mixed bag of strong and weak outcomes was seen in the first quarter.
Overall, open portfolios are still strong with a slight increase of $3 billion or 0.5% over last year, according to Experian’s State of the Automotive Finance Market for the first quarter.
The firm also noted improvement in both 30- and 60-day delinquencies as credit continues to loosen on originations. Meanwhile, all of subprime is up 11.1% on new auto loans and 3.6% on used. There has been a slight shift in used financing toward older model vehicles. For both new and used cars, Experian has seen a decrease in auto rates.
Still, average scores continue to decrease, Experian noted. Terms are increasing among the highest risk segments with financing and payments being relatively flat compared to the first quarter of 2010.
