2014 Repossessions Climb 8%, from Auto Remarketing.
According to the 2015 Manheim Used Car Market Report, total repossessions increased by 8 percent in 2014 to an estimated figure of 1.48 million.
In the coming years, Manheim projects that the increases will likely be more substantial, but not necessarily because finance company portfolios will be worth less than the paper on which their performance reports are printed.
“(Repossessions) will be driven primarily by the higher number of contracts outstanding and the mix shift toward lower credit tiers — not any major, or unexpected, deterioration in portfolio performance,” Manheim said in its report released this past weekend during the National Automobile Dealers Association Convention in San Francisco.
“In fact, on a credit-adjusted basis, default rates should remain below historic norms,” the report continued. “In addition to a secular shift wherein households have placed a high priority on auto debt relative to other obligations (witness the S&P default indices), there are also current short-term economic forces that will better enable customers to make their monthly car payment.”
