Car Ownership and Maintenance

Key takeaways:

• 84-month auto loans hit a record 19.8% of new-car financing in Q1 2025

• Affordability remains a top concern amid $1,000+ payments and high APRs

• Experts warn tariffs and limited 0% deals could worsen affordability crisis

Nearly one in five Americans who bought a new car in the first quarter of 2025 committed to an 84-month loan — the longest common auto financing term — signaling growing financial strain in the car market, according to a new report by Edmunds.

In its latest quarterly analysis, the automotive research firm revealed that 19.8% of new-vehicle buyers signed up for seven-year loans, up from 15.8% in Q1 2024 and 13.4% in 2019. The trend highlights a shift toward financial extremes as consumers either stretch out payments to lower monthly costs or shorten terms to take advantage of targeted incentives.

“The auto finance market showed signs of steadiness in Q1, but that stability doesn’t mean affordability has improved,” said Jessica Caldwell, head of insights at Edmunds. “When one in five new-car buyers are taking on seven-year loans, it’s clear how many consumers are still financially stretched.”

$1,000+ monthly payments are common

Despite slightly easing from Q4’s holiday-fueled luxury buying surge, 17.7% of new-car buyers in Q1 2025 agreed to monthly payments of $1,000 or more, a level that remains historically high. In Q1 2024, the number was 17.3%.

Meanwhile, the average amount financed was $41,473, only a modest decline from Q4’s $42,113, showing little relief for buyers.

Mid-ground financing shrinks

While long loans surge, short-term financing also saw some growth among creditworthy shoppers: 10.2% of buyers took loans of 48 months or less, up from 7.1% in 2019. However, traditional loan terms of 60 to 75 months are fading, now making up 67.4% of loans — down from nearly 78% six years ago.

This polarization reflects a market where buyers are increasingly making tough choices to afford their vehicles, whether through extended debt or selective short-term deals.

0% financing fades away

The once-popular 0% finance offer has nearly disappeared, accounting for only 1.0% of all new-car loans — a record low. These incentives made up 3.0% of loans just a year ago, but have vanished in today’s 7.1% average APR environment.

“The era of ‘free money’ car loans is over,” analysts noted.

Potential policy lifeline

In the face of tightening budgets, some relief may come from Washington. President Trump has floated a proposal to allow interest paid on loans for American-made vehicles to be tax deductible. While the policy’s details are still unclear, Edmunds estimates that the average new-car buyer in Q1 paid $9,231 in interest over the life of their loan.

“If implemented, a deduction could offer meaningful savings — the kind that covers a vacation or home upgrade,” said Caldwell. “But without specifics on how ‘American-made’ is defined or who qualifies, its true impact is hard to predict.”

Tariffs add uncertainty

Adding further tension to the market is the new round of auto tariffs, which officially went into effect on April 3. Caldwell warned these could “add fuel to the fire,” potentially making new vehicles even less affordable and further increasing reliance on ultra-long-term financing.

Bottom line: With both interest rates and vehicle prices remaining stubbornly high, affordability remains the defining challenge for new-car shoppers in 2025 — and it’s pushing more consumers to the financial edge.

Key takeaways:

• Sources indicate Volvo will cancel U.S. orders for the S90 next year, citing the low sales volume of the model in the American market.
• In response to the Trump administration's tariffs, Volvo is also reducing incentives on existing U.S. inventory and exploring increased production at its South Carolina plant.
• The decision highlights the growing impact of the escalating trade war on global automakers with production in China and underscores Volvo's strategic shift towards its higher-volume crossover models in the U.S.

If you've always dreamed of having a big, luxurious Volvo S90, dream on but you'll soon have to confine your shopping to the used-car lot. 

Volvo is reportedly planning to discontinue U.S. sales of the S90, which is manufactured in China, as trade tensions between the United States and China intensify and as the automaker grapples with newly imposed tariffs on Chinese goods, including vehicles.

​Automotive News quoted a person familiar with Volvo’s strategy, who wished to remain anonymous, as saying that the S90 is a "low-volume car for the U.S.," with only 1,364 units sold in 2024.

"Rather than deal with [the tariffs], they are just going to cut it out," the source explained. The company will reportedly focus on its more popular XC90, XC60, and XC40 crossover SUVs in the American market. A Volvo spokesperson declined to comment, Automotive News said.

President Trump on Wednesday significantly escalated trade tensions by slapping a 125 percent tariff on goods made in China, a fivefold increase from the 25 percent levy applied to vehicles from other countries on April 3rd. Those tariffs will remain in effect even after a temporary pause on reciprocal duties with most other nations.

A slow but steady retreat

Discontinuing the S90 would mark Volvo's further retreat from the shrinking U.S. sedan market. Last summer, the automaker ceased U.S. sales of the S60, which was produced in South Carolina.

Despite a 7.5 percent increase in U.S. sales during the first quarter, reaching 33,285 vehicles, Volvo's global deliveries saw a 5.7 percent decline, with slumps in key markets like Europe and China. The heavy reliance on imports – 96.8 percent of Volvo's U.S. sales in the first quarter were imported from Europe or China – exposes the company to significant risks from the Trump administration's aggressive trade policies.

In addition to the S90, Volvo's new EX30 subcompact crossover is also sourced from China, although production of that model is slated to expand to Ghent, Belgium, later this year.

Volvo said, however, that it is "ramping up" production of the electric EX90 crossover at its currently underutilized Ridgeville, S.C., assembly plant to boost volumes and reduce costs.

To deal with the increasing costs of importing vehicles into the U.S., Volvo is also adjusting its incentive strategy. While sticker prices are not expected to change for now, the automaker plans to implement "minor incentive changes," a company executive said. This includes reducing discounts on imported vehicles already in the U.S. before the tariffs took effect. The company intends to use these savings to offset the financial burden of future imports subject to the higher tariffs.

Key Points:

• Interest in electric vehicles (EVs) in the U.S. has dropped from 59% in 2023 to 51% in 2024, according to a new Gallup poll.

• Support for EVs declined most sharply among young adults and upper-income households, though it fell across party lines.

• Hybrid vehicles now show stronger consumer interest than EVs, with 65% of adults open to owning one.

American enthusiasm for electric vehicles has dimmed over the past year, with just over half of adults now saying they own or are open to owning an EV — a sharp decline from a high point in 2023, according to new data from Gallup’s annual Environment survey.

Only 3% of U.S. adults say they currently own an EV, while another 8% say they’re seriously considering a purchase. An additional 40% say they might consider one in the future. That brings total interest in electric vehicles to 51%, down from 59% last year, and marks a cooling trend that cuts across income levels, age groups, and political affiliations.

The percentage of Americans firmly opposed to buying an EV has remained steady at 47%, up from 41% in 2023. Meanwhile, the most enthusiastic supporters — those who either own or are seriously considering purchasing one — have dropped from 16% to just 11% over the past year.

Why the drop in interest?

While the exact reasons for the decline are unclear, Gallup notes that the survey period coincided with several developments that may have influenced public opinion.

Among them were protests and vandalism targeting Tesla — spurred by dissatisfaction with CEO Elon Musk’s controversial role as head of the Department of Government Efficiency — and former President Donald Trump’s purchase of a Tesla vehicle on March 11, a move that made headlines and reportedly boosted Tesla’s stock by $56 billion.

Hybrids offer a middle ground

At the same time, Gallup introduced a new question measuring consumer interest in hybrid vehicles, and the results suggest Americans may be pivoting toward options that combine gasoline and electric power.

A significant 65% of adults said they already own (8%), are seriously considering (10%), or might consider (47%) a hybrid vehicle — outpacing EV interest in every category. The preference for hybrids may reflect growing concerns about the charging infrastructure and reliability of fully electric cars.

Looking ahead

While EV adoption may still grow with policy support and technological improvements, the latest data highlight a cooling in consumer sentiment — and a need for automakers and policymakers to reassure the public about the convenience and sustainability of electric mobility. Meanwhile, hybrids appear to be gaining favor as a more flexible, less controversial alternative.

Do you just love taking your car to the dealer for service? J.D. Power says consumer satisfactiong with service visits "remains strong for a second consecutive year."

But don't break out the champagne just yet, because it adds that "wait times for appointments, communication shortfalls and gaps in fixing vehicles correctly limit the industry’s progress." That's according to the J.D. Power 2025 U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, released today.

The survey found that dealers continue to battle with ongoing capacity challenges as the average number of days that customers must wait for an appointment is longer than was tracked from 2018 to 2022, and only nominally better than 2023 and 2024. Addressing this—and other opportunities—could improve service satisfaction and increase loyalty to dealerships.

“While it’s no surprise that customers gravitate to operations that serve them well, the study clearly shows that good service leads to loyal customers,” said John Tenerovich, director of automotive retail at J.D. Power. “This phenomenon proves true across all service types—oil changes, repair, tires and brakes.”

Gas is still king

The study finds that customer satisfaction with the service of electrified vehicles—both battery-electric (BEV) and plug-in hybrid (PHEV) vehicles—continues to trail satisfaction among owners of internal combustion engine (ICE) vehicles by a wide margin.

Satisfaction (on a 1,000-point scale) among mass market BEV owners is 51 points lower than among owners of mass market ICE vehicles, and satisfaction among premium BEV owners is 57 points below that of premium ICE vehicle owners. The ongoing lack of well-trained EV technicians and frontline personnel is a key factor in the shortfall.

Following are some other key findings of the 2025 study:

• Fixed right first time: Surprisingly, 12% of repairs are not completed correctly on the first visit. 
• Satisfaction improves when maintenance items are combined with recalls.
• Communication helps deliver satisfying service experience: Among the 10 most influential key performance indicators measured in the study, four are communication-related.
• Trust in service personnel and overall service varies by generation. While Boomers express a great deal of trust in dealer service, younger generations have progressively less.

Highest-Ranking Brands and Segments

Porsche ranks highest in satisfaction with dealer service among premium brands with a score of 912. Lexus (900) ranks second and Cadillac (888) ranks third.

Subaru ranks highest in satisfaction with dealer service among mass market brands with a score of 896. MINI (888) ranks second and Honda (881) ranks third.

Subaru (886) ranks highest in the mass market car segment, followed by Honda (879) and MINI (879).

Subaru ranks highest among mass market SUVs/minivans with a score of 897. Honda (884) ranks second and Buick (878) ranks third.

Porsche ranks highest in the premium car segment with a score of 906, followed by Lexus (891) and BMW (887).

Porsche ranks highest in the premium SUV segment with a score of 917. Lexus (902) ranks second and Cadillac (891) ranks third.

Chevrolet ranks highest in the truck segment with a score of 877. GMC (876) ranks second and Nissan (873) ranks third.

The U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study is now in its 45th year and has been redesigned for 2025. Along with traditional Voice of the Customer survey data, the study index now includes, for the first time, repair data drawn from individual in-dealership repairs. This repair information, secured from individual dealership service transactions, allows the study to offer an unprecedented level of granularity of both service quality and customer retention.

The study measures satisfaction with service at franchised dealer and aftermarket service facilities for maintenance or repair work among owners and lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles. It also provides a numerical index ranking of the highest-performing automotive brands sold in the United States, which is based on the combined scores of five measures comprising vehicle owner service experience data and actual repair data. These measures are (in order of importance): service quality; service advisor; vehicle pick-up; service facility; and service initiation. In 2023, model segment rankings were added to the study to differentiate between the service needs for cars, trucks, SUVs and minivans.

The 2025 study is based on responses from 55,210 verified registered owners and lessees of one- to three-year-old vehicles. J.D. Power goes to great lengths to ensure that survey respondents are true owners of the brand for which they are surveyed. The study was fielded from July through December 2024.

For more information about the U.S. Customer Service Index (CSI) Study, visit https://www.jdpower.com/business/us-customer-service-index-csi-study.