Cox Automotive’s Auto Market Report video delivers a comprehensive analysis of the current automotive market. Chief Economist Jonathan Smoke leads our effort to translate data and trends into actionable insights. This video covers a wide range of topics, including consumer spending patterns, consumer sentiment, retail vehicle sales, financing rates, supply dynamics, pricing trends and leading indicators from Cox Automotive’s extensive data ecosystem.

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Report Summary – Sept. 16, 2025

Key Highlights

  • Retail sales for new and used vehicles remained strong into early September.
  • Auto loan rates increased, with used rates averaging 14.12% and new rates 9.43%.
  • Dealer leads and credit applications showed mixed trends across platforms.

Current Context & Consumer Trends

  • Total consumer spending accelerated year-over-year in July and stabilized in August, indicating continued economic resilience.
  • Consumer sentiment increased slightly in July and August but has declined by 2.9% so far in September, possibly reflecting economic uncertainty or rising costs.

Retail Sales & Supply

  • Both new and used vehicle retail sales remained strong into early September, continuing the momentum from August.
  • New vehicle supply has declined over the past two weeks, while used supply remains lower than in previous years, suggesting ongoing inventory constraints.

Financing & Pricing

  • Low-interest rate loan offerings have decreased since July and August, with average used auto loan rates rising to 14.12% and new rates to 9.43% in September.
  • Used vehicle prices are slowly drifting lower, with retail prices for model year 2022 declining just 0.1% last week and wholesale prices falling 0.2%.

Cox Automotive Leading Indicators

Dealer activity and consumer engagement show mixed trends in September.

  • Dealer leads are up year over year so far in September on Autotrader and Kelley Blue Book, but leads are down for the month compared to August on both sites.
  • Unique leads per dealer are down year over year so far in September for new vehicles but are up for used vehicles on websites hosted by Dealer.com. New and used leads are down for the month compared to August.
  • Unique credit applications per dealer on Dealertrack were up 6% year over year last week, with the trend down week over week in aggregate, with a declining trend in new loan applications.
  • Service trends on Xtime relative to last year were stable in the week ending Sept. 6, as completed appointments were down 2% year over year.