Auto credit availability narrowed in November as the high interest rate environment continued to make it harder for consumers to borrow in the space.

Cox Automotive said access to credit tightened more than 4% year-over-year, about the same as just before the pandemic, in February 2020. Its All-Loans Index was about flat for the month at 94.8.

Access narrowed among all channels and lender types except for captives, which loosened slightly, said Cox, which indicated that an array of conditions limited credit access: yield spreads rose, the subprime share fell slightly, the average term shortened, the down payment amount increased, and fewer deals had negative equity. Though approval rates were steady, they reached their lowest point of the year.

The share of loan terms longer than 72 months fell 47 basis points and was down about 2 percentage points year-over-year, Cox said.

Certified preowned loans tightened the most of any type year-over-year, while new-vehicle loan access narrowed the least.

The index is baselined to January 2019.

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