The Federal Reserve confirmed Friday what consumers and dealers knew: interest rates on new car loans are not moving. The Fed’s new consumer credit report shows rates remained the same as at the start of the year.
Digging in: The report on all consumer credit broke down two areas of auto loans by whether they were from banks or from finance companies.
Commercial bank’s 60-month and 72-month car loan rates remained at 7.52% and 7.55% in January and February.
That was up slightly from the 7.22% and 7.5% at the end of 2025.
Finance companies' rates have similarly remained at 6.1% since the fourth quarter of 2025.
Not the same: The Fed found the average term has been at 66 months since the end of 2023.
Though the term has stayed the same, the average amount financed has ballooned from $38,716 to $42,504 at the end of March, meaning larger payments for consumers.
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On the ground: Looking at recent transaction data, Jennifer Parsons, Senior Director of F&I at Walser Automotive Group, told CDG the Fed’s information was in line with what she’s seeing.
“Rates are definitely down compared to the peak, but higher than they were in 2020-2021,” Parsons said. As far as terms, Parsons noted some customers are looking for longer options.
“For 84 months, we’re seeing a slight trend toward more consumers choosing that path, but not significant,” Parsons said.
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