UBS managing director and senior portfolio manager Jason Katz joins 'Varney & Co.' to give his view on the markets in the second half of the year.
The average payment for a new car rose to an all-time high in the first quarter as American families continue to face affordability challenges in the economy.
A new LendingTree report citing Experian data for the first quarter of 2026 found that the average monthly payment for a new car rose 2.9% from last year to $770.
Lease payments on new cars rose sharply, rising 3.2% over the past year to $619 on average in the first quarter.
Used car payments saw a slight increase over the past year, rising 1.5% to an average monthly payment of $531.
Among borrowers with different categories of credit scores, borrowers making the highest average monthly payments on new cars were unsecured borrowers with scores in the 601 to 660 range, who paid $811, followed by subprime borrowers with scores between 501 and 600 who paid $792.
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Average monthly payments on auto loans hit an all-time high in the first quarter of this year. (Stock)
High-quality borrowers with scores between 781 and 850 had the lowest monthly payment of $753 for a new car, the data showed.
Average auto loans in the first quarter were $43,925 for new cars and $27,070 for used cars, according to Exerpian data. The average new car loan increased from $43,582 in the previous quarter, while the average used car loan decreased from $27,528 in the same period.
Borrowers in the first credit category, with scores from 661 to 780, took out the largest new car loans at an average of $46,244. Among used car buyers, borrowers in the super-prime category had the largest loan amount of $29,599, according to Experian.
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Average payments for used cars grew at a slower pace than for new cars in the first quarter. (David Paul Morris/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Consumer loan balances have grown in part due to higher car prices. The most recent consumer price index (CPI) data released by the Bureau of Labor Statistics (BLS) for the month of May showed that new car prices were up 0.2% year over year, while used car and truck prices were down 2% from a year ago.
Nationally, outstanding auto loan debt reached $1.685 trillion in the first quarter of 2026 – representing a 57.3% increase from the first quarter of 2016 when the total was $1.071 trillion, according to the Federal Reserve Bank of New York.
While mortgages make up the largest portion of US consumer debt at 70.2%, auto loans account for 9% of the total $1.685 trillion. Auto loans rank as the second-largest category of consumer debt, barely surpassing student loan debt by $1.658 billion.
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Borrowers with poor credit scores faced the highest car loan payments in the first quarter. (Eric Lee/Bloomberg via Getty Images)
Auto loan originations totaled $182.1 billion in the first quarter of 2026, up slightly from $180.8 billion in the fourth quarter of 2025 but down from last year's peak of $187.9 billion in the second quarter.
New York Fed data shows that the highest amount on record for auto loans was in the second half of 2021, when $201.9 billion was originated.
Americans in their 30s and 40s took out the most auto loan debt in the first quarter, reaching $38.6 billion and $40 billion respectively, slightly outpacing borrowers in their 50s at $38.3 billion.
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Consumers ages 18 to 29 took out $25.3 billion in auto loans, while those in their 60s also took out the same amount of auto loans in the first quarter.
