May auto sales across the country rebounded from a sluggish April and moved the seasonally adjusted annual rate of sales to 15.3 million from April’s 14.9 million. The industry sold 1.4million vehicles in May, according to the NADA Market Beat report. That is the highest volume May in the past six years.
Leasing Hits New High
According to Experian Automotive, which tracks the auto finance market, leasing accounted for 27.5% of all new vehicles financed in the first quarter of 2013, a 3.1% jump from last year and the highest level of leasing Experian has seen since they began tracking the data in 2006.
Lower Monthly Payments, But More Of Them
During the first quarter, Experian says the average monthly payment for new vehicle loans was $459, a drop of $3 compared to the same time last year. Consumers have managed to lower their payments by extending the length of their auto loans over a longer period of time. For the second straight quarter the average length of new vehicle auto loans was 65 months.