Commentary
New data from Edmunds indicates that the loan balance on newly purchased cars has hit a new record of $43,899 with lower down payments than has been historically the norm. The data also shows that 84-month or longer loans made up 22 percent of financed new-car purchases in Q1 2026—an all-time high—compared to 20.8 percent in Q4 2025 and 21.2 percent in Q1 2025.
