ATLANTA—Auto loan originations continue to decline. Equifax reported that 5.82 million auto loans, totaling $130.6 billion, have been originated year-to-date.
“This is a 2.0% decrease in accounts and a 0.1% decline in balances from this time last year,” Equifax said.
Turning to credit scores, the company said that 1.37 million auto loans have been originated year to date to consumers with a VantageScore 3.0 credit score below 620.
“These are generally considered subprime accounts. This is a 7.3% decrease from March 2017. These newly issued loans have a corresponding total balance of $24.1 billion, a 6.8% decrease year-over-year,” according to the company.
Through March, 23.5% of auto loans were issued to consumers with a subprime credit score, and they accounted for 18.5% of origination balances. At this same point in 2017, the account share was 24.8% and balance share was 19.8%, Equifax stated.
The average origination loan amount for all auto loans issued in March 2018 was $22,693.
“This is a 3.5% increase over March 2017. The average subprime loan amount was $18,033. This a 2.7% increase compared to March 2017,” Equifax said.
"While we continue to see a slightly fewer originations compared with a year ago, we're also seeing somewhat higher loan origination amounts on loans compared with a year ago, illustrating that shoppers are financing more of the vehicle," said Gunnar Blix, deputy chief economist for Equifax. "We also see the subprime share of lending continues to decline."