Auto Loan Payments, Rates Hit Record Highs

Americans are making record payments on their new vehicle loans, with the average payment climbing to $717 in the fourth quarter of 2022.

This figure is 50% higher than in 2010, according to Edmunds.

What’s more, the percentage of U.S. consumers paying over $1,000 a month for a new vehicle also soared to record heights over the last three months.

Edmunds reports nearly 16% of consumers who financed a new car in the fourth quarter have monthly payments at $1,000 or more, compared to 10.5% in 2021.

Rate increases also are causing some shoppers to rethink their new vehicle purchase plans. The average annual percentage rate for new vehicles rose to 6.5% in the fourth quarter, from 5.7% in the third quarter and 4.1% in 2021, Edmunds reported. Now dealers are seeing some customers back out of pre-sold vehicles for the first time in two years, David Christ, head of Toyota Motor Corp. brand sales in the U.S., told AutoBlog in an interview.