The issuance of car loans in March grew after two months of stagnation
According to the results of March, the average rates for the issued car loans showed a decrease by 1.5 p. Compared with February. As a result, according to the results of the month, the number of new loans increased and their total volume – by 7% and 11%, respectively. Both of these indicators of the car loan market in the first two months of the year did not grow.
The reduction of the average rate and the average full value of the loan (PSK) for the issued car loans is evidenced by the data from the United Credit Bureau BCS (BKI OKB, at the disposal of Kommersant). According to them, in March, the average PSK decreased by 1.5 p. Compared with February, to 22.28% (the maximum was recorded in January 2025 – 24.8%). The average PSK for new cars in March amounted to 19.95%, for used 28.77%. The share of loans for the purchase of new vehicles in the issues was 66% (versus 68% in February).
The decrease in the average PSC is most likely associated with the strengthening of subsidized support of brands, which is primarily aimed at selling cars accumulated in the warehouses, the director of the Balance Platform Fintech-Platform Fintech-Company Ekaterina Konova indicates. “The margin can be reduced by banks to attract more borrowers after the last two months in which there were no large volumes of extradition,” adds Oleg Ablev, head of the analytical department of the RIKO-TRAST IK.
As a result, after two months of stagnation, the issuance, both in monetary and quantitative terms, in March, banks showed growth. According to the BKI OKB, for March, banks issued 68.85 thousand car loans for 87.75 billion rubles. Compared to February, the number of issuance of car loans in March increased by 7%, volume – by 11%.
Banks confirm the trend. “We recorded an increase of 15%, which was due to a total increase in the market, as well as the launch of a new strategy aimed at increasing the level of approval,” says Andrei Eremenko, head of the motor-loot department of Ingosstrakh-Bank. “In April, we will predict the maintenance of the current level of sales.” In March, the issuance of car loans compared to February increased by 16% in terms of number and 19% in volume, VTB said. “We associate the dynamics with the seasonal revitalization of consumer activity, the end of the quarter and the special offers from dealers,” they pointed out there. According to the head of the direction for working with Alfa-Bank auto manufacturers, Ilya Dolgikh, the bank support program, as well as the successful launch of partnership projects with auto controls (also a certificate), affected the March growth in the issuance of car loans with the bank.
Nevertheless, in general, the first quarter lost to the issues as the previous quarter (reduction by 15% in quantitative terms and 24% in monetary), and the first quarter of 2024 (decrease by 41% and 49%, respectively).
And if we talk about the prospects, then at the beginning of April, the rates for car loans were growth and the average PSC rose to 24.35%, follows from the data of the BCB of the OKB. In addition, since April, the first stage of macroprudentic limits for banks has earned, reminded in VTB. “Now the Central Bank regulates the maximum volume of issuance depending on the debt load of the borrower and limits the issuance of long -term loans,” they note there. “In these conditions, we expect a reduction in general market sales compared to March.” According to the results of the second quarter, the VTB predict the issuance of car loans in the market for about 272 billion rubles as a whole, which will correspond to a decrease in the year by 58%. According to the President of the Invoskafe investment platform, Gennady Fofanov, for the second quarter, it is possible to predict the gradual stabilization of the car loan market, but the return to last year’s indicators seems unlikely. “In the second quarter, the volume of issuance in the segment will be lower than the average values of last year, since the interest rates on the market are still high,” concludes the director of the group of ratings of the financial institutions of the NKR agency Egor Lopatin.
Subsidies reduce bets
The average rates on loans for new foreign vehicles decreased in the first quarter of 2025 to 11.4% per annum compared with 13.8% in the fourth quarter of 2024. This follows from the review “Fast.Avto” (B2B service of lending, insurance and leasing for dealers and automakers). Analysts indicate that a decrease in demand and an increase in warehouse residues (see Kommersant on March 7), as well as the need to maintain a share in the market led to an increase in subsidies from automakers. As a result, lending rate is reduced.
At the same time, Fast.Avto notes that the maximum reduction in the rate on subsidies programs is possible at a short lending period. In particular, in the first quarter of 2025, the average car loan period was 49 months, while a year earlier – 52. The subsidies also influenced an increase in the average initial contribution. In the first quarter of 2025, it reached 1.59 million rubles, markedly exceeding the average loan amount (1.44 million rubles). In the first quarter of 2024, the loan amount (1.51 million rubles) exceeded the initial contribution (1.35 million rubles).
Ekaterina Konova, Director of the Department for the Development of Auto Crediting and Insurance of the Balance Platform, does not exclude further reducing rates to the end of the second or third quarters. At the same time, Vyacheslav Yakubchik, Director for the Development of Past.Avto’s partnership programs, noted that if, against the backdrop of a key rate, “there will be an increase in demand for cars, then it will not be so profitable for auto -wrapps to support subsidies.”
