Edmunds reports Americans borrowed an average of $42,113 to finance their new vehicle purchases in the fourth quarter, up 5.3% from Q4 2023. They agreed to repay those loans at an average of $754 per month, a 2.4% year-over-year increase.

Both figures are new all-time highs for the U.S. market, analysts said, corresponding with a record 18.9% of new vehicle buyers committing to a $1,000-plus monthly payment.

“Although they tend to skew a bit higher at year end, the record highs in auto financing amounts that were set in Q4 are the culmination of major challenges to new-vehicle affordability that consumers faced in 2024,” Edmunds Head of Insights Jessica Caldwell writes, in part, in a release announcing the data. “It’s getting more and more difficult for the average shopper to walk into a new-car dealership and leave with a set of keys without feeling like they are forced to create extra room in their budget from some other aspect of life.”

Analysts noted there is some relief on the horizon in the form of lower interest rates: The Federal Reserve announced its most recent reduction to the target range in December, its third quarter-point cut of the year; easing is expected to slow in 2025. Edmunds found the average interest rate for a U.S. new vehicle purchase was 6.8% in the fourth quarter, down from 7.4% in Q3 2024 and 7.1% in Q4 2023.

Read the full report at Edmunds