Ep. 223: Finance Fast Lane -> From Affordability Woes to EV Leasing Trends with Experian

Melinda Zabritski, Head of Automotive Financial Insights at Experian joined me at the Auto Finance Summit in Las Vegas last week and highlighted her recent report: Experian's State of the Automotive Finance Market Report: Q2 2025. Buyers are going old-school with cold hard cash. 67% of used vehicle deals closed all-cash in Q2, thanks to sky-high affordability hurdles. But don't hit the panic button, credit scores are skyrocketing, showing consumers are still nailing that money game amid economic speed bumps. EVs took a slight detour, dipping below 9% market share. The fix? Leasing's the hero here, dishing out low payments that make going electric like a joyride steal. New car payments are soaring to approximately $770 a month, fueled by tariffs and beefier loans. Meanwhile, the used market's owning the track with 40 million transactions (vs. just 12 million new). But there's good news from the lender lane: Loan-to-value (LTV) ratios are dropping smartly to around 90% for top players, new and used alike. And EVs? Lenders are ditching the doubt on residuals and batteries, finally cruising with some confidence. Don't miss this episode for everything you need to know about the current state of the automotive finance market!_______________________________Experian's State of the Automotive Finance Market Report: Q2 2025Experian Automotive's exclusive quarterly report on the latest trends and analysis of the U.S. automotive finance market, presented by Melinda Zabritski, Head of Automotive Financial Insights at Experian.Gain insights into:New and used financingLender market share shiftsCredit scores and risk distributionChanges to loan amounts, terms, rates, and paymentsDownload herehttps://www.experian.com/automotive/auto-credit-webinar-form_______________________________Check out Experian's EV Resource Page for all things electric vehicle data_______________________________This episode is sponsored by Experian. Experian is a global data and technology company, powering opportunities for people and businesses around the world. Experian helps to redefine lending practices, uncover and prevent fraud, simplify healthcare, deliver digital marketing solutions, and gain deeper insights into the automotive market, all using their unique combination of data, analytics and software. Learn more here https://www.experian.com/automotive/ev-resource-center?cmpid=EVS_for_Everyone_______________________________Connect with Melinda on LinkedIn_______________________________Connect with Elena:https://evs4everyone.com/https://www.linkedin.com/in/elenaciccotelli/Let's talk on X:https://twitter.com/EVs_forEveryoneAre you connected with the show on LinkedIn? https://www.linkedin.com/company/the-evs-for-everyone-podcast/________________________