SCHAUMBURG — Experian Automotive announced that the automotive loan market showed continued improvement, with interest rates for new- and used-vehicle loans reaching the lowest levels since 2008, according to its quarterly automotive credit analysis.

In the fourth quarter 2011, average credit scores for new- and used-vehicle loans dropped, the percentage of loans to customers with nonprime, subprime or deep subprime credit scores increased, and lenders increased their willingness to make loans between six and seven years long, according to Experian.

“The improved automotive lending market is good news for consumers in the market to buy a vehicle,” said Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive lending at Experian Automotive. “The confluence of low interest rates, longer loan terms and an increase in loans outside of prime provide a great opportunity for more people to find a vehicle that suits their needs.”

Consumers continued to do a better job of repaying loans in the end-of-year quarter as loan delinquencies fell. The 30-day delinquency rate fell 6.57 percent from the year-ago quarter to 2.79 percent. The 60-day delinquency rate also fell by 9.51 percent from 0.79 percent in the fourth quarter 2010 to 0.72 percent in the last quarter of 2011.

Another positive sign for the lending market is that the overall dollar volume of loans at risk dropped to $18.5 billion, a $1.862 billion drop from the fourth quarter 2010. Meanwhile, the total volume of open loans rose by $23.9 billion in the fourth quarter last year to $658 billion.

“Lenders are clearly on much more solid ground than they were two or three years ago,” Zabritski said. “With delinquencies and total dollar volume at risk down, lenders have been able to adopt more aggressive strategies. This tends to benefit everyone, from lenders to automotive retailers to the end consumer. With more lenders aggressively competing for business, it’s a great time for consumers to buy or finance a vehicle.”

Average interest rates for new-vehicle loans fell to 4.52 percent from the year-ago quarter. Average interest rates for used vehicle loans fell also to 8.68 percent from 8.71 percent in the fourth quarter 2010.

Average credit scores for new-vehicle loans dropped six points to 761, while average credit scores for used-vehicle loans dropped nine points to 670. New-vehicle loans to nonprime, subprime and deep subprime customers increased by 13.8 percent from a year ago.

Loans of 73 to 84 months accounted for 14.1 percent of all new-vehicle loans and 9.04 percent of all used-vehicle loans, up 47.1 percent and 41.1 percent from the fourth quarter 2010, respectively.

DETROIT — Experian Automotive announced that Ally Financial was the top consumer auto sales financier in the U.S. marketplace. Ally accounted for more than one in every 11 vehicles financed in the U.S. last year, with more than $40 billion in consumer financing contracts for new or used cars and trucks.

“Ally has grown and diversified its business during the past couple of years, supporting the resurgence of the U.S. auto industry,” said Bill Muir, president of Ally. “We now have retail financing relationships with more than 14,000 dealers in the U.S. … Our strategy is to offer a full range of financing products and services — from retail financing and leasing, to commercial loans and remarketing services as well as vehicle service and maintenance contracts. We finance a broad spectrum of creditworthy customers, and we are committed to supporting the auto industry for the long term.”

Experian Automotive reports Department of Motor Vehicles registration information from all 50 states. Four states (Wyoming, Delaware, Rhode Island and Oklahoma) do not report the financing source for auto loans.

LAKE SUCCESS, N.Y. – DealerTrack, Inc. has entered into an agreement with Experian Automotive to serve as a value-added reseller for Experian’s AutoCount market share reports.

AutoCount reports help dealers better understand their markets by identifying top-performing vehicle makes and models (both new and used), emerging sales trends and the lenders that are active in their area. The reports provide detailed information on actual monthly vehicle sales based on unbiased title data from Department of Motor Vehicles registrations. They are an objective source used by auto dealers when evaluating vehicle sales activity and include vital information about dealers, manufacturers, vehicle segments, makes, models and lenders. AutoCount reports can be customized down to the ZIP Code level to give dealers information specific to their market area.

The AutoCount reports are accessed through DealerTrack AAX and complement DealerTrack AAX’s new MarketDriver functionality. MarketDriver provides dealers with enhanced insight into their business and information on how they are performing against their local market.

“We are excited to extend our partnership with Experian Automotive and begin selling AutoCount reports to our customers,” said Bridget Townsend, general manager of DealerTrack AAX. “The reports provide the data that dealers need to better assess how a vehicle actually performs in their market. When coupled with the additional data from DealerTrack AAX’s MarketDriver, which includes not only Internet listings but actual transaction data such as average vehicle profit, it’s a powerful combination that provides true insight into vehicles that dealers are considering stocking. With such a complete picture of the market, dealers can make better, more informed inventory decisions that should not only improve turns, but profitability as well.”

“With DealerTrack AAX’s leading position among inventory management solutions, we are confident this new agreement will bring AutoCount’s market reporting intelligence to more dealers than ever before,” said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. “Dealers can now leverage the combined power of DealerTrack AAX and AutoCount data to help them make more profitable used vehicle pricing, sourcing and merchandising decisions.”

SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — American consumers are doing a better job of making payments on their auto loans as delinquencies on 30- and 60-day loans fell in the first quarter of 2010, according to Experian Automotive.

The 30-day delinquency rate fell 1.06 percent from the first quarter 2009 to first quarter 2010 (2.82 percent to 2.79 percent), according to Experian Automotive’s analysis of the automotive finance market as of the first quarter of 2010. The 60-day delinquency rate fell from 0.79 percent in first quarter 2009 to 0.78 percent in first quarter 2010.

“As we look for positive economic trends related to consumer behavior, the drop in automotive loan delinquencies is a step in the right direction,” said Scott Waldron, president of Experian Automotive. “A healthy lending industry is ultimately an important pillar of a healthy auto industry. When fewer people are delinquent on payments, it is good for lenders, which should translate into positives for the auto industry down the line.”

Despite the drop in loan delinquencies, lending institutions are still taking a cautious approach to their lending strategies. The average credit score for a new-vehicle loan in the first quarter 2010 was 776, up three points from the first quarter 2009. In addition, the percent of near prime, subprime and deep subprime loans for new vehicles dropped from 17.99 percent in the first quarter 2009 to 16.86 percent in the first quarter 2010.

“It is very clear that lenders continued to take a disciplined approach to new vehicle loans in the first quarter,” said Melinda Zabritski, director of automotive credit for Experian Automotive. “As a whole, lenders remain much more risk-averse than they were two or three years ago. However, financing is still available for some customers in higher-risk tiers. Automotive retailers might need to look a little harder and might need to educate their customers about changes in loan terms, but it is still possible to get these consumers into a vehicle.”

Other findings include the following:

• The overall finance market has remained stable, with growth occurring in prime segments (total prime market up 2.55 percent).
• The average credit score for used vehicle loans rose to 665 in Q1 2010 from 661 in Q1 2009.
• The states with the highest average credit scores for new vehicle loans were Minnesota (805), Wisconsin (797), Iowa (795), Colorado (791) and Connecticut (791).
• The states with the lowest average credit scores for new vehicle loans were Mississippi (752), Texas (754), Louisiana (754), Nevada (755) and West Virginia (760).