Record lowest vehicle loans granted in Q1

Financial institutions granted a clearly lower volume of new vehicle loans in January-March period this year than a year earlier, said the Bank of Finland on Wednesday. The average interest rates on vehicle loans declined slightly from a year earlier. Financial institutions other than banks granted new vehicle loans to Finnish households worth EUR 443 million in the first quarter of 2026, which is 31 less than in the corresponding period a year earlier. The amount is the lowest recorded for the first quarter since the statistics began at the end of 2020. A year earlier, in the first quarter of 2025, other financial institutions granted new vehicle loans in the amount of EUR 644 million. By contrast, credit institutions (banks) operating in Finland granted new vehicle loans worth EUR 604 million in the first quarter of 2026, which is slightly more than in the corresponding period a year earlier (EUR 574 million). Taken together, other financial institutions and banks granted new vehicle loans worth EUR 1.05 billion in the first quarter, which is 14 less than in the corresponding period a year earlier. In the years 2022–2025, the first quarter has on average accounted for one quarter of the full-year vehicle loan granting by both other financial institutions and banks. In recent years, the banking sectors share of vehicle financing has grown significantly as a result of mergers. The average interest rate on new vehicle loans granted by other financial institutions was 4.30 in the first quarter. The average interest rate rose from the previous quarter but was slightly lower than a year earlier. In the fourth quarter of 2025, the average interest rate was 4.07 and in the first quarter of 2025 it was 4.37. In the first quarter, banks granted new vehicle loans at a significantly lower average interest rate than other financial institutions. The average interest rate on new vehicle loans granted by banks was 3.59.