Home Credit Union Blog The Auto Loans Credit Unions Never See

The Auto Loans Credit Unions Never See

Captive finance companies still control more than half of new-vehicle financing. The vehicles consumers lease and the payments they choose show why credit unions are missing transactions before they ever have the opportunity to compete.

Credit unions know how competitive auto lending has become. They compete on rates, build dealer relationships, improve the digital application experience and look for opportunities to win business away from other lenders.

But consumers are not always deciding between one auto loan and another.

Sometimes, they are deciding whether to buy or lease.

For credit unions that do not offer leasing, that creates a fundamental limitation at the point of sale. A credit union can have a competitive loan, but it cannot compete for the transaction when the consumer chooses a lease.

That matters in today’s market.

Experian’s Q2 2026 State of the Automotive Finance Market shows captive finance companies accounting for 52.23% of new-vehicle financing, compared with 12.39% for credit unions. Credit unions gained share year over year while captives declined slightly, but the gap remains substantial.

And that gap is about more than rates. It is also about the financing structure consumers choose.

Consumers Are Under Payment Pressure

In Q2 2026, the average new-vehicle loan reached $43,610, while the average monthly payment climbed to $765. More than one in three vehicle loans now extend beyond 72 months.

Longer loan terms can reduce the monthly payment, but they are not the only way consumers are approaching affordability.

Leasing changes the structure of the transaction by allowing consumers to pay for the vehicle’s use over a defined term rather than financing the full purchase price.

That can create a significant difference in the monthly payment.

According to Experian, a Honda CR-V carried an average loan payment of $631 compared with a $490 lease payment. A Honda Civic averaged $561 financed versus $404 leased. A Hyundai Tucson averaged $577 versus $437. A Chevrolet Equinox averaged $604 versus $443.

Across Experian’s top leased models, the average lease payment was $148 lower per month than the average loan payment.

For a consumer trying to make a new vehicle fit within a monthly budget, that difference can directly affect the financing decision.

And payment is only one part of the comparison.

Latest Posts

CU Xpress Lease

The Nation’s Premier Auto Leasing Program for Credit Unions

100% Residual Value Guarantee.
Only with CU Xpress Lease.

Leasing Can Change the Upfront Cost Equation

Consumers also consider how much cash they need upfront and how taxes are treated when comparing a lease with a purchase.

Lease tax treatment varies by state, but in some states, sales tax is calculated differently for a lease than it is for a traditional vehicle purchase. Depending on the state and transaction structure, that can affect how much tax is paid upfront and how costs are spread over the term.

That makes tax treatment another consideration in the lease-versus-buy decision, alongside the monthly payment, upfront costs, expected ownership period and overall cost of the vehicle.

The important point is that consumers are evaluating more than an interest rate.

They are evaluating how the entire transaction fits their budget.

For a credit union, that means competing for the auto transaction requires more than having a competitive loan. It requires having an option that fits the way the consumer chooses to finance the vehicle.

The Vehicles Being Leased Are the Same Vehicles Credit Unions Are Financing

Leasing also cannot be dismissed as a niche product for luxury buyers.

Honda was the country’s largest leased make in Q2 2026, accounting for 12.71% of leased new vehicles, followed by Toyota at 9.90%. Ford, Kia, Hyundai and Chevrolet each represented more than 6% of leased vehicles.

The country’s most leased vehicle was the Honda CR-V, which Experian’s separate Automotive Market Trends Report also identified as the leading new-vehicle model in Q2 2026.

The broader market shows the same pattern.

CUVs and SUVs represented 59% of new-vehicle registrations in Q2 2026, up from 57.4% a year earlier. Experian’s finance data shows CUVs and SUVs accounting for 63.05% of new financing.

CR-V. Rogue. Explorer. Tucson. Equinox. HR-V.

These are not vehicles sitting outside the traditional credit union auto market. They are vehicles credit unions are already competing to finance.

The difference is that consumers are also choosing to finance these vehicles through a lease.

A Broader Way to Compete for Auto Business

This puts the competitive challenge into clearer focus.

A credit union can offer a competitive rate, a strong dealer relationship and a streamlined loan process. Those advantages matter when the consumer wants a traditional loan.

But when the consumer is comparing a loan payment with a lease payment, rate is no longer the only variable.

Captive lenders compete at the point of sale with financing rates, incentives, residual values and lease payments.

Credit unions need the ability to compete across that same decision.

That is where CU Xpress Lease can fit into the credit union’s auto strategy.

CU Xpress Lease allows credit unions to offer new-vehicle leasing without building the infrastructure, residual-value expertise and lease-return operation required to manage a program independently. Fusion Auto Finance provides a 100% residual value guarantee and manages the lease-return process, giving the credit union another way to compete for new-vehicle business.

The goal is not to replace the auto loan.

It is to give credit unions another option when the consumer chooses a different way to structure the transaction.

Because winning more auto business is not only about offering a competitive loan.

It is about being ready to compete when consumers choose how they want to finance the vehicle.