Finance

Value of personal loans grows by 25.2 per cent, while cost of electric cars pushes up auto finance

Average car loan rose by €1,073 to €11,678, reflecting rising car prices and growth in electric and plug-in hybrid vehicles

Brian Hayes, chief executive of BPFI, said rising car prices were contributing to the increased value of car loans. Picture: Fergal Phillips

The value of personal loans drawn down in Q1 of this year was up 25.2 per cent year on year to €481 million, according to a report published by the Banking & Payments Federation Ireland (BPFI).

The total number of loans rose by 27.8 per cent to 49,236. These are the highest values reached since the BPFI started collating this data in 2020.

A total of 15,167 car loans were drawn down in the first ...