Money Borrowed By Car, Truck And SUV Buyers Topped $1 Trillion For The First Time Ever

CNBC's auto expert Phil LeBeau reported on Thursday that car buyers raked in $1.005 trillion in auto loans during the first quarter of 2016. LeBeau noted that the total car loans topped the $1 trillion mark for the first time ever. He attributed the surge in auto loans to the auto industry hitting an all-time high 17.46 million vehicles sold last year which is showing no signs of slowing down. "We're still seeing strong sales projections which will help fuel this growth," Melinda Zabritski, a senior director of automotive finance at Experian, an auto loan tracking company said. LeBeau noted that Experian's analysis of auto loans in the first quarter indicated a "slight increase" in the total dollar amount of money being borrowing by individuals with subprime credit ratings. In addition, the percentage of loans 30 and 60 days that were considered to be delinquent also ticked "slightly higher." Nevertheless, total delinquencies that were 30 days past due stood at 2.1 percent in the first quarter while 0.6 percent were 60 days past due - both of which remain below historical averages. "From a consumer standpoint we don't like to see consumers missing payments," Zabritski also said. "Historically delinquency is still low but it's a trend we don't like to see rise."