Automotive loan balances grow more than 53 percent since postrecession low in 2010

SCHAUMBURG, Ill., Nov. 4, 2015 /PRNewswire/ -- Experian Automotive today announced that outstanding automotive loan balances reached its highest level -- $968 billion -- in the third quarter of 2015, growing by more than 53 percent since the postrecession low in 2010. According to Experian's most recent State of the Automotive Finance Market report, this increase also marks a $98 billion increase from the previous year.

"Continued growth in the automotive finance market is a clear sign of improved consumer confidence over the past few years," said Melinda Zabritski, Experian's senior director of automotive finance. "Since bottoming out in the recession, automotive sales have rebounded steadily, which is a good sign for consumers, automotive manufacturers, lending organizations and the overall economy. What's critical to this success is that consumers stay on top of their payments. 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."

While the total amount of outstanding automotive loans has grown substantially, consumers have done their part to stabilize the finance market. During the third quarter of 2015, 30-day delinquencies dropped to 2.5 percent from 2.7 percent a year earlier. Furthermore, 60-day delinquencies also declined slightly (from 0.74 percent in Q3 2014 to 0.73 percent in Q3 2015) over the same time period.

The report also found that the largest increase in volume of open loans was in the super-prime category, rising 8.3 percent from the previous year. Subprime and nonprime followed closely, with increases of 7.8 percent and 7.7 percent, respectively. Furthermore, the distribution of open loans by risk segment remains relatively unchanged, demonstrating that the surge in outstanding automotive financing is driven by consumers across the board, not a specific segment of the market.

About Experian Automotive
Experian Automotive provides information services and market intelligence that enables results-driven professionals to gain the fullest possible understanding of the market, the vehicles and the people who buy them. Its North American Vehicle Database^SM houses data on nearly 700 million vehicles and, when combined with Experian's credit, consumer and business information, provides an integrated perspective into the automotive marketplace. Experian Automotive's AutoCheck^® vehicle history reports provide dealers and consumers with in-depth information, allowing them to confidently understand, compare and select the right vehicles. For more information on Experian Automotive and its suite of services, visit our Website at http://www.experian.com/automotive.

About Experian
We are the leading global information services company, providing data and analytical tools to our clients around the world. We help businesses to manage credit risk, prevent fraud, target marketing offers and automate decision making.

We also help people to check their credit report and credit score, and protect against identity theft. In 2015, we were named by Forbes magazine as one of the "World's Most Innovative Companies."

We employ approximately 17,000 people in 38 countries and our corporate headquarters are in Dublin, Ireland, with operational headquarters in Nottingham, UK; California, US; and Sao Paulo, Brazil.

Experian plc is listed on the London Stock Exchange (EXPN) and is a constituent of the FTSE 100 index. Total revenue for the year ended March 31, 2015, was US$4.8 billion.

To find out more about our company, please visit http://www.experianplc.com or watch our documentary, "Inside Experian."

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Contact:

Roslyn Whitehurst
Experian Public Relations
1 714 830 5578
[email protected] 
Twitter: @RozWhitehurst

SOURCE Experian Automotive

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http://www.experian.com/automotive