Auto-loan originations rose as serious delinquency held near 3%

Outstanding auto debt and originations both increased

The Federal Reserve Bank of New York's August 11 report shows $1.713 trillion in outstanding auto-loan and lease balances at the end of June 2026. That was $28 billion, or 1.7%, higher than in the first quarter and $58 billion higher than a year earlier.

The report also identifies $211 billion in newly originated auto loans and leases appearing on credit reports during the second quarter. Originations are new credit appearing in the quarter; they are not the same as the total balance borrowers still owed at quarter-end.

The borrower mix weakened slightly

The median credit score among newly originated auto loans declined by seven points from the first quarter. The New York Fed began using VantageScore 4.0 for these charts in Q1 2026, so the quarter-to-quarter comparison uses the same scoring model, while comparisons with earlier reports need caution.

The figures come from the New York Fed Consumer Credit Panel, an anonymized, nationally representative sample drawn from Equifax credit-report data. They describe completed originations recorded in the panel, not advertised offers, applications, approvals, or a forecast.

Serious-delinquency flows remained elevated

The annualized share of auto-loan balances newly moving into serious delinquency was 3.00% in Q2 2026, versus 2.93% in Q2 2025. The New York Fed defines this flow as balances that newly became at least 90 days late during the quarter divided by balances that were current or less than 90 days late in the prior quarter.

That transition rate is not the share of all borrowers who are delinquent, and it does not predict whether one borrower will miss a payment. The report says early-delinquency transitions for auto loans rose slightly while transitions into serious delinquency were mostly unchanged across debt types.

How buyers and sellers can use the report

• Compare written offers using APR, term, amount financed, total interest, and total of payments rather than the payment alone.
• Leave room in the budget for insurance, fuel, maintenance, registration, and repairs before choosing a maximum loan payment.
• Check the payoff amount before trading or selling a financed vehicle, especially when the loan balance may exceed the car's value.
• Treat national debt and delinquency data as market context, not as an appraisal, approval estimate, or available rate.