We’re seeing the cost of cars and the cost related to car ownership increase enormously. In the past five years, it has increased even faster,”
said Dr. Rikard Bandebo, Chief Strategy Officer and Chief Economist at VantageScore, in a Bloomberg article.
According to a recent analysis by VantageScore, consumers across all income categories are struggling to make monthly car payments. Auto Loans have gone from the safest consumer credit products to among the riskiest over the last 15 years as delinquencies rose more than 50%.
Auto Loans were once a safe haven, with drivers prioritizing payments on their transportation above other debts. However, delinquencies on car loans, defined as 60 or more Days Past Due (DPD), jumped 51.5% from the first quarter of 2010 through the first quarter of 2025. The opposite is true for Credit Cards, Personal Loans and most other forms of consumer credit.
VantageScore found that, in relative terms, monthly car payments are increasing faster than Mortgage payments. No income group is immune. VantageScore Prime and Near Prime borrowers, who typically have good credit scores, are actually missing car payments at a faster rate than Subprime consumers since lenders tightened financing criteria for the lowest-rung borrowers three years ago, the VantageScore study found.
Consumers now are in a more precarious position than they’ve been since the last recession. We’ve seen this growing trend over the last several years of more and more consumers struggling to make ends meet, and it’s looking like that trend is going to continue into next year.
Added Dr. Bandebo
Read VantageScore’s latest white paper on Auto Loan delinquencies here: https://vantagescore.com/resources/knowledge-center/auto-loan-delinquencies-increased-over-50-percent-since-2010
Read the full Bloomberg article here: https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2025-10-17/auto-loan-delinquencies-jump-50-as-car-prices-reach-new-heights
