Auto Loan Delinquency
Who is falling behind on car loans, who is getting new ones, and what they cost. Most auto credit comes from captive finance companies, credit unions and specialist lenders rather than commercial banks, so the credit files are the measure that covers the whole market.
| Measure | Latest | 2019 | vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance 90+ days late | 5.49% | 4.75% | Over 10% aboveNear record |
| Newly 90+ days late, annualized | 3.00% | 2.35% | Over 10% above |
| Newly 30+ days late, annualized | 7.87% | 6.97% | Over 10% above |
Counted: latest more than 10% over a positive 2019 average. Up to 10% above and at or below 2019 are shown, not counted; a series whose 2019 average is zero or negative has no base. Near record: at least 90% of the series high. Counted, never scored. Descriptions, not forecasts.
Latest reading
In Q2 2026, 5.49% of auto loan balances were 90 or more days late in credit files, against a 2019 average of 4.75% and a record of 5.60% in Q1 2026. Over the four quarters to Q2 2026, 3.00% of balances newly became seriously late, against 2.93% a year earlier. Balances stood at $1.71T, +3.5% on a year and +1.7% on the quarter.
Sources, methodology & freshnessNew York Fed Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit (Equifax credit files); Federal Reserve bank delinquency, charge-off, G.19 and SLOOS series via FRED · Quarterly; the Q2 2026 report was published 42 days after the quarter ended. Release dates before the latest report are estimated as quarter end + 40 days; the latest quarter uses the report monthData as of Q2 2026, released August 11, 2026 · Open ↓Close ↑
Late payments in credit files
Balances 90+ days late: 5.49% in Q2 2026, +0.50 pts on a year, the 99th percentile of 94 readings since 2003. Newly 30+ days late over the year: 7.87% in Q2 2026, −0.09 pts on a year, the 70th percentile of 94 readings since 2003. A car loan 90 days late is at risk of repossession. The flow measures count balances that newly crossed 30 and 90 days late during the year, annualized.
Who is falling behind, by age
In Q2 2026, the highest rate was ages 18–29 at 4.83% and the lowest ages 60–69 at 1.77%. Each line is the share of that age group’s auto balances that newly became 90+ days late over the last four quarters.
On bank books
Bank consumer loans other than cards 30+ days late: 2.33% in Q2 2026, −0.05 pts on a year, the 39th percentile of 142 readings since 1991. The Federal Reserve does not publish an auto delinquency rate for banks. The closest series covers bank consumer loans other than cards, which mixes auto loans with other installment credit, and is shown for context only.
How much is owed
Balance outstanding: $1.71T in Q2 2026, +3.5% on a year, the 100th percentile of 94 readings since 2003. Open accounts: 109.0M, +0.8% on a year.
New lending and credit scores
New auto loans: $210.8B in Q2 2026, +12.2% on a year. 16.13% went to borrowers scoring below 620; under the previous score model the share peaked at 31.85% in Q2 2006. The median score at origination was 716. New loans are counted by the borrower’s credit score at origination. The New York Fed switched from Equifax Riskscore 3.0 to VantageScore 4.0 from the first quarter of 2026, so band volumes and score percentiles before and after that quarter are not comparable; the charts mark the change.
The price and supply of credit
New-car loan rate at banks, 60 months: 7.54% in Q3 2026, −0.10 pts on a year, the 80th percentile of 81 readings since 2006. Banks tightening standards, net: -4.5% in Q3 2026. Loan rates are the average new-car rate at commercial banks from the G.19 release, which understates what subprime borrowers pay at specialist lenders. The standards line is the net share of banks tightening auto loan standards in the senior loan officer survey.
How the numbers are built
Borrower side. The New York Fed's Quarterly Report on Household Debt and Credit reads a random five percent sample of Equifax credit files, so it covers every lender: banks, credit unions, finance companies and the federal government. Its delinquency shares are of balances, not of borrowers. Each reading covers a quarter and is plotted on the quarter's last day; the New York Fed publishes it weeks later (the Q2 2026 report on August 11, 2026), so the charts show when each period ended, not when it became known.
Lender side. Where the Federal Reserve publishes a bank series for this loan type, it is charted beside the credit files and never combined with them. Banks count loans 30+ days late on their own books, seasonally adjusted.
The answer card counts delinquency measures above their 2019 average and near their record by the rule printed under it, the same rule as the Delinquency Tracker. No forward study ships with this page: the series are quarterly and hold three recessions, too few to test one.
Download the series: auto-loans.json.
| Measure | Latest | 2019 | vs 2019 |
|---|---|---|---|
| Balance 90+ days late | 5.49% | 4.75% | Over 10% aboveNear record |
| Newly 90+ days late, annualized | 3.00% | 2.35% | Over 10% above |
| Newly 30+ days late, annualized | 7.87% | 6.97% | Over 10% above |
Counted: latest more than 10% over a positive 2019 average. Up to 10% above and at or below 2019 are shown, not counted; a series whose 2019 average is zero or negative has no base. Near record: at least 90% of the series high. Counted, never scored. Descriptions, not forecasts.
How Auto Loan Delinquency Works
- 1Start with the answer cardEach row is one measure at its latest quarter, against its 2019 average and its own record, with the printed rule that marks it above 2019 or near its record. The rows are counted, never blended into a score.
- 2Read the borrower sideThe New York Fed reads a five percent sample of Equifax credit files every quarter, so it sees every lender. Its headline is the share of balances 90 or more days late, and its flow measures show how much newly fell behind during the year.
- 3Compare the lender sideWhere the Federal Reserve publishes bank figures, they sit beside the credit-file series rather than inside them: banks count loans 30 or more days late on their own books and lend mostly to prime borrowers.