Subprime Auto Loan Delinquency Hits Record 6.90% as America’s Car-Mart Shares Sink 93%
Updated
Updated · WOLF STREET · May 19
Subprime Auto Loan Delinquency Hits Record 6.90% as America’s Car-Mart Shares Sink 93%
1 articles · Updated · WOLF STREET · May 19
January 2026 subprime auto-loan delinquencies in ABS reached a record 6.90%, up 34 basis points from a year earlier, and stayed elevated at 6.80% in February, according to Fitch.
That stress is concentrated in a risky niche: only about 15% of the $1.68 trillion auto-loan market was originated as subprime or deep-subprime, while prime ABS delinquencies were just 0.42%.
Dealer-lenders serving bad-credit borrowers had relied on high vehicle margins, high interest rates and securitization, but several chains have collapsed as losses mounted and fraud allegations surfaced.
America’s Car-Mart, the largest publicly traded subprime-focused dealer chain, has become a visible casualty, with its stock falling to about $11 — down 93% from its 2021 peak.
Across all auto loans and leases, broader household strain looks more contained: balances rose to $1.68 trillion in Q1, the auto-loan-to-disposable-income ratio dipped to 7.17%, and overall 60-day-plus delinquency was 1.49% in March.
With dealer fraud exposed and delinquencies soaring, will regulators finally step in to protect vulnerable car buyers?
Is the subprime auto loan collapse a contained crisis or a warning sign for the wider U.S. economy?