August Auto Update: Subprime Weakness Persists as Impairments Spike

This month’s report integrates Experian’s State of Auto Market data with dv01’s loan-level insights, offering a comprehensive view of origination shifts and performance trends.

Quick Insights

Subprime Auto continues to materially underperform seasonal norms, with weakness concentrated among borrowers already delinquent—while First-Time Impairments remain stable, suggesting underwriting quality hasn’t deteriorated.

Experian Market Data: Subprime Share Hits Record Low

• Subprime originations fell to just 15% of 2025 volume, the lowest on record

• Buy-Here-Pay-Here share dropped below 10%, down from 13–14% pre-COVID

• Despite this shift, delinquencies remain elevated, in line with GFC peaks

dv01 Loan-Level Data: Impairments Surge

• 30+ Impairments rose 83 bps MoM in August, the largest jump since June

• Cure and Made Payment rates underperformed, with 3-month averages worsening

• Charge-offs climbed 1 CDR, more than 2x higher than seasonal patterns