Report: Auto Sales, Loans Surging To End 2014

Auto loans and auto sales are at the highest points since 2001. A report by Bloomberg indicates that during the third quarter of 2014, Americans took out more loans than they have since 2005. The loan origination during that period was $105 billion dollars. Those numbers coincide with a report by J.D. Power, which indicates that U.S. auto sales for November are on pace to reach 1.1 million, which would be the highest since 2001. That number would also be an increase of 5.5% over November of 2013. New vehicle spending is also on a record pace of $33.3 billion. That figure would be would $1.1 billion more than the previous record set last November. John Humphrey, Senior Vice President of the global automotive practice at J.D. Power, spoke about unusually strong November sales figures. “The industry continues to demonstrate strong sales growth, which is exceptional considering that November is currently on pace to record the highest average customer-facing transaction prices ever.” Those numbers will be bolstered due in part to the upcoming Thanksgiving weekend, which Humphrey says should be strong. “Automakers will take advantage of the Thanksgiving holiday, one of the highest-volume holiday weekends of the year,” Humphrey explained. J.D. Power and LMC Automotive are forecasting 238,000 auto sales for the late November holiday weekend. Thanksgiving weekend typically the second most influential holiday sales weekend, trailing only Labor Day, which produced 279,000 auto sales in 2014.

More sales means more financing and if the current trend continues, Americans will soon be responsible for over 1 trillion dollars of auto loan debt. The U.S. auto loan balance, which was reported in August of this year, sits at 924.2 billion. Amy Crews Cutts, Senior Vice President and Chief Economist at Equifax, offered some insight in our October 6th story about these trends, Cutts explained, “The abundance of high-quality vehicles for sale, the attractive financing options available, and the ever-increasing age of cars on the road today have created an environment that makes it easy for consumers to say ‘yes’ when it comes to purchasing a new or used car.” How does your store approach Thanksgiving weekend? Which days are you open? Do your sales numbers indicate that the recession is truly behind us?