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Fuel prices are displayed on a sign as a customer fills their vehicle at a gas station on April 13, 2026 in Miami, Florida. <\/p>\n
Joe Raedle | Getty Images<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n
Auto debt<\/a> is becoming a bigger problem for consumers<\/a>, a new report shows. <\/p>\n Total auto debt<\/a> reached $1.68 trillion at the end of 2025 \u2014 a 37% increase since late 2018, when the debt was at $1.23 trillion, according to a new analysis by The Century Foundation, a left-leaning think tank, and Protect Borrowers, a consumer advocacy group, provided exclusively to CNBC. That figure includes traditional installment loans and leases. <\/p>\n Nearly 86 million Americans \u2014 about 1 in 4 \u2014 carry outstanding auto loan or lease debt, the organizations calculated. <\/p>\n The average origination balance for an auto loan was $33,519 at the end of 2025, compared with $24,782 in the fourth quarter of 2018, the research shows. Over that same period, the typical monthly auto loan payment increased to more than $680 from $506. <\/p>\n “People are seeing more and more of their paychecks eaten by their car payments,” said Angela Hanks, chief of policy programs at The Century Foundation. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n The surge in auto debt comes as Americans face more expensive vehicles and higher interest rates, a combination that can force them to choose between higher monthly payments and longer repayment terms.<\/p>\n Ownership costs can present additional affordability challenges. Gas prices have increased due to the war with Iran, with an nationwide average price per gallon of $4.53<\/a> as of Wednesday, according to AAA. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n Rising car prices<\/a> have led many families to take on more debt to get behind the wheel. The average transaction price for a new vehicle <\/a>is nearly $49,000, compared to between $35,000 and $37,000 in 2018, according to Edmunds. <\/p>\n “That’s a $12,000 to $14,000 move in less than a decade, and incomes haven’t kept pace,” said Ivan Drury, director of insights at Edmunds. <\/p>\n At the same time, the supply of affordable cars<\/a> has largely dried up, Drury said. <\/p>\n “There are virtually no new vehicles for sale under $20,000<\/a>,” Drury said. “Buyers who used to have options at the bottom of the market no longer do.”<\/p>\n<\/div>\n‘Virtually no new vehicles for sale under $20,000’<\/h2>\n