New loans for cars and trucks hit a 10-year high in the second quarter of the year, pushing total auto debt above $1 trillion for the first time, according to government data released Thursday.
Americans took out $119 billion in auto loans from April through June, up from $95 billion in the first quarter of the year, the Federal Reserve Bank of New York said in its report on household debt and credit.
Through the first half of the year, auto sales were on pace to challenge the record of 17.4 million set in 2000.
Overall consumer debt rose $2 billion to $11.