Used Vehicles and SUVs Remain Prominent in Q3 2022

by Melinda Zabritski 2 min read December 6, 2022

Young couple discuss the purchase of a new car with salesman

The automotive market continues to evolve. Hit with challenges like the inventory shortage, the response has been dynamic, as lenders and dealers look for creative ways to serve their customers.

Experian’s State of the Automotive Finance Market Report: Q3 2022 found that consumers with credit scores between 300 and 660—also considered as the nonprime segments—are continuing to opt for used vehicles rather than new. In addition to that, consumers overall are preferring larger vehicles such as SUVs over sedans.

In Q3 2022, used vehicles comprised 61.68% of total vehicle financing, an increase from 59.66% the previous year. With used vehicles typically having a higher volume and monthly payments that are considerably lower than new vehicles, it’s not out of the ordinary for used to make up a larger portion of automotive financing.

For example, the average monthly payment for a used vehicle went from $472 in Q3 2021 to $525 in Q3 2022. In comparison, the average monthly payment for a new vehicle was $700 this quarter, an increase from $618 this time last year.

In Q3 2022, the used vehicle loan amount increased 8.59% year-over-year, a significantly lower increase from Q3 2021, when average loan amounts jumped 21.37% year-over-year. This is certainly a positive trend for consumers who are in the market for a used vehicle and could also signal the finance market normalizing, with used vehicle values increasing at a more expected rate.

Larger vehicles dominate financing share

When looking at what consumers are financing, SUVs have comprised the majority of financing for quite some time. In Q3 2022, SUVs made up 60.40% of financing, an increase from 58.03% in Q3 2021, while full-size pickup trucks grew from 15.84% to 17.19% year-over-year. In comparison, sedans decreased from 20.38% in Q3 2021 to 17.61% in Q3 2022.

Larger vehicles sustained dominance in the automotive industry is partly due to the rise of crossover vehicles, which consumers appreciate because of the additional cargo space without completely sacrificing fuel efficiency.

While it appears that things may be leveling out in the automotive finance market, it is important to stay close to the data and trends to better understand the evolving marketplace. The automotive industry continues to be ever-changing, and lenders and dealers who leverage data-driven decision making will be best positioned to manage any future changes.

To learn more about automotive finance trends, watch the entire State of the Automotive Finance Market: Q3 2022 presentation on demand.

Related Posts

Customer Spotlight: How Matrix Rental Solutions Strengthens Trust in Affordable Housing

Learn how Matrix continues to deliver a secure, trusted rental experience as fraud tactics evolve. Read more!

July 31, 2026 by Laura Burrows
What Is AI Decisioning?

Every business makes decisions about people and transactions all day long. Should we approve this loan? Is this purchase fraud? Which customer should get this offer, and what should it be? For a long time, those decisions were made in one of two ways: a person reviewed each case by hand, or the company wrote fixed rules, like "approve anyone with a credit score above 700." Both work. Both also leave value on the table. The manual review is slow and hard to scale. The fixed rule can turn away good applicants and is slow to adapt when the market shifts. AI decisioning is a third way. What makes AI decisioning work Instead of relying on a single reviewer or a rigid rule, automated decisioning uses models that learn from data — studying how thousands of past cases turned out, finding the patterns that predict an outcome, and applying them to each new decision, often in real time. The result is faster, more consistent decisions. But a model on its own isn't the whole story. Getting real value from AI decisioning takes good data to learn from, AI analytics to generate insights, the tools to act on it and the governance to keep it compliant. What we've found is that the pieces only pay off when they work together, and that is where we're built differently. A model is only as good as what it learns from, and we pair your data with one of the deepest views of consumer and commercial credit: decades of full-file history and vetted attributes. Then we give you the tools to act on it. Use cases across your business Whether you're trying to grow your customer base, reduce fraud, manage lending risk, or improve collections, automated decisioning brings all the pieces together to make more accurate, consistent and explainable decisions at scale. Fraud and Identity A fraudulent transaction that slips through costs money and erodes trust. Rules are static, and fraudsters move fast. They'll probe boundaries, find the blind spots and move to the next scheme. By the time the rules are updated, they're already three steps ahead. How AI decisioning changes this: AI fraud detection with real-time risk scoring and decisioning across transactions and customer interactions Intelligence that continuously learns from results to help adapt fraud strategies as threats evolve Reduced false positives and less friction for customers at account opening and checkout Identity verification tools that confirm someone is who they say they are without slowing down the experience Credit and Lending Loan approval is where the relationship begins. Credit risk decisioning helps lenders find that delicate balance between approving enough people to grow, but carefully enough to manage risk. Missing that balance means turning away good customers or taking on losses that are difficult to absorb. How AI decisioning changes this: Increased approval opportunities for creditworthy applicants without increasing overall risk Models you can update and deploy quickly as market conditions change, rather than waiting months Ability to run "what-if" scenarios to test how a new strategy would have performed on your historical data before putting it live Collections Which customer should your team reach out to today? Through which channel? What kind of message? If you reach out too aggressively, you push someone who might have recovered into default. If you wait too long, you lose them. If you call someone at work, they resent you; if you text, they might ignore it. If you offer a payment plan, they might accept it, but only if the terms make sense to their financial situation. How AI decisioning changes this: Optimized next-best-action and contact-channel strategies for each individual customer Improved recovery potential through better targeting Less time spent on accounts with a lower propensity to pay, freeing your team for higher-impact cases Ability to segment and test new strategies before rollout Customer Acqusition Finding the right customers is about reaching the right people with the right offer at the right time. To stay competitive, it’s now a requirement to balance growth with risk while creating a seamless experience converting prospects into customers. How AI decisioning changes this: More precise prospect targeting using credit, behavioral, and alternative data, where permitted, to identify consumers most likely to respond Personalized offers delivered in real time Dynamic decision strategies that can be updated quickly as market conditions and customer behavior change Ongoing testing and optimization of acquisition strategies to improve campaign performance and support customer lifetime value Driving results with AI decisioning Every customer interaction is a decision. Businesses that can adapt quickly will be better positioned to grow, manage risk, and deliver the experiences customers expect. The technology will continue to evolve, but the goal remains the same: making informed decisions that balance business objectives, risk, and customer experience. Learn more about our decisioning software

July 27, 2026 by Zohreen Ismail
Why Innovation Matters for Members First Credit Union

Learn how Members First Credit Union uses innovation and data-driven insights to better serve members and expand financial opportunity.

July 24, 2026 by Scarlet Nickel

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Enter your name and email for the latest updates.

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Subscribe to our Newsletter

Don't miss out on the latest industry trends and insights!
Subscribe