The number of auto loan consumers in less-than-solid financial shape has grown, behooving lenders to tap the tools they have at their disposal to help ease the burden.

A new J.D. Power study of more than 11,000 consumers emphasizes the challenge, showing that the number of “financially vulnerable” mass-market consumers is up 11 percentage points over 2021 while the number of financially healthy consumers has fallen 13 percentage points. 

Since J.D. Power redesigned the study this year, its numbers aren’t comparable with prior years’ results.

Among the financially vulnerable, just 1% indicated they have enough funds to cover six months of living expenses.

“Auto lenders really need to tailor their offerings for the realities of the current market and recognize that a large portion of their customers may face some very real challenges managing their finances," said Senior Director of Automotive Finance Intelligence Patrick Roosenberg. 

"Lenders need to ensure that their digital bill-pay tools encompass a wide range of options, such as extensions, due date changes, personalized financial planning/budgeting tools and one-on-one advice to help consumers plan for the future."

The premium auto lenders that scored well for customer satisfaction in the survey are the finance arms of Lincoln, at 722 on a 1,000-point scale, Mercedes-Benz, at 719, and BMW, at 703.

The top mass-market lenders are Ford Credit, at 669, Southeast Toyota Finance, at 664, and Toyota Financial Services, at 650.

Consumers, polled from November 2023 through August of this year, financed a new or used vehicle via a loan or lease in the previous three years.

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