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.