Kristen Lee/Business Insider
According to Experian, the quality of auto credit is riding high.
That's setting up the US auto market for a robust recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic.
But experts are still concerned about affordability as the average new-car price climbs.
The US auto market is defying expectations. Last year looked as though it could have been an unmitigated disaster, with all of the country's vehicle manufacturing idled for two months in the late winter and early spring and consumers trapped at home and economically pummeled by pandemic shutdowns.
But the year finished on a relatively high note after production restarted and dealers began doing business again. The 2020 sales totals were down substantially from the previous few years' record- or near-record levels — more than 17 million new cars and light trucks — but the roughly 14.5 million vehicles that did sell saved the year.