Average auto loan debt grew 2.1% to $24,297 in 2024

U.S. drivers owed $1.53 trillion on cars, motorcycles and other personal vehicles as of Q3 2024, according to Experian data, an increase of around $20 billion, or 1.5%, over the Q3 2023 balance.

Normalization of supply chain disruptions, which started in 2020 but never really got ironed out until last year, explain part of the moderation in balances. This leveling resulted in growth that fell short of the overall rate of inflation over the same period—a reversal of a multi-year trend. More vehicles on dealership lots gave would-be buyers more latitude to negotiate on price, and generally made the market less urgent than when consumers were shopping for wheels a few years ago.

Average car loan balances ended Q3 2024 at $24,297, far less than the 5.2% jump during the 12-month period ending with Q3 2023.

Still, financing rates are higher, which continues to put upward pressure on auto loan debt. While sticker prices for cars have leveled off—even electric vehicles are falling in price—the average loan interest rates for new and used vehicles were markedly higher in 2024 compared with what consumers were paying as recently as 2022.

Auto delinquency rates saw a slight increase in 2024, rising to a total 3.68% of all auto loans being at least 30 days late.

The percentage of borrowers 30 to 59 days late on their auto payments rose to 2.30% as of September 2024, reflecting a 0.12 percentage point increase from 2023. Like auto balances and total auto debt, the increases were modest.

Average balances increased for all auto loan borrowers in 2024. Those with exceptional FICO® Scores (800 to 850) saw the largest average balance increase, 3.4%. Borrowers with poor credit scores (300 to 579) saw a 2.9% increase in their average balance.

However, the vast majority of consumers—around 65%—have a credit score somewhere in the range from fair to very good, and their auto balances increased more modestly. The lower increases for consumers with fair and good FICO® Scores may be signaling that they have hit a ceiling as to how much they can finance. Better credit scores allow some auto loan borrowers—the "well-qualified buyers" you hear about on television ads—to afford more expensive vehicles precisely because they receive more favorable finance terms.

Average auto loan payments increased another 5.1% to $662 per month, according to Experian data, as rising payments wind their way through car loans with higher average APRs than in prior years. Nonetheless, it marks the slowest annual increase since 2021.

Auto balances still increased in every state and Washington, D.C., in 2024. Maine, New Jersey and New York state led the nation in average balance increases, each seeing a 3.5% or higher increase in 2024.

In a continuing trend, Texas leads the pack when it comes to auto loans. At $29,760, no other state sported a larger average auto balance in 2024—although nipping at its spurs is nearby New Mexico, which saw its average loan balance increase to $29,098.

Gen X is still the generation carrying the largest auto debt on average, according to Experian data. However, its average balance increased by only 1.9%, slightly less than the national 2.1% increase.

Baby boomers and millennials had larger-than-average percentage increases. Finally, as less than 2% of all the auto notes belong to the Silent Generation, we may consider its 4.3% increase a bit of an anomaly.

More Auto Sticker Shock Coming in 2025?

Remember the supply chain shortage a few years ago? That was a major factor in the sudden increase in auto prices in 2021 and 2022, and it may be coming back for drivers shopping for cars and trucks in 2025. Here's why:

Tariffs

Steel and aluminum comprise up to 60% of a vehicle's mass, according to trade group American Iron and Steel Institute, and that's going to cost more thanks to a new 25% tariff on all steel and aluminum imports. The current administration has also gone back and forth on implementing broader tariffs on all imports from many countries.

Not only will the cost obviously rise—tariffs ultimately get passed on to the consumer, typically—but the scramble for currently levied metal could disrupt the already fragile auto supply chain.

Insurance Costs

Those disruptions may also have secondary effects, like reigniting auto insurance premium increases, which are already growing at a rate that outpaces overall inflation. Shortages of supplies mean higher costs for insurers responding to claims. Insurers are still smarting from the losses they ate in 2021, when they paid out more in auto claims than they took in in premiums.

Inflation

On top of other factors, there's regular old consumer price inflation. Prices on an annual basis were up 2.4% in March 2025 following a brief jump that reached as high as 3% in January.

So while estimates for new and used car prices later in 2025 may be near impossible to determine until new tariffs are finalized, chances are that prices will more likely increase than decrease.

Improved Credit Scores Can Offer Some Relief

Nonetheless, auto credit remains available. More consumers have good credit scores than in years past, which would mitigate some of the sting of higher new and used car prices anticipated this year. Whether consumers decide to trade in their current car for a new financed vehicle or squeeze a few more miles out of it will depend upon just how uncertain the automotive market remains in 2025.

While it's become increasingly apparent that consumers have less of an ability to control or understand the whipsaw of economic changes that impact auto financing, one constant does remain: creditworthiness. For consumers who finance their transportation, better credit scores will almost always translate to lower APRs. Ultimately, a good credit score may be the best bargaining chip a car buyer will have this year.

Methodology: The analysis results provided are based on an Experian-created statistically relevant aggregate sampling of our consumer credit database that may include use of the FICO® Score 8 version. Different sampling parameters may generate different findings compared with other similar analysis. Analyzed credit data did not contain personal identification information. Metro areas group counties and cities into specific geographic areas for population censuses and compilations of related statistical data.