SCHAUMBURG, Ill. — Automotive loan delinquency and repossession rates increased in the first quarter of 2013, according to Experian Automotive’s latest State of Automotive Finance report.

Thirty-day auto loan delinquencies rose 1.3 percent, 60-day delinquencies increased 12.4 percent and repossessions rose 16.9 percent when compared with the previous year.

“Obviously, we never want to see a rise in delinquencies or repossessions, but when you compare the current findings with previous years, they are still lower than the recession-level rates,” said Melinda Zabritski, Experian Automotive’s senior director of automotive credit. “As we continue to move forward, we should start to see more increases as some of the subprime loans coming onto the books begin to deteriorate.

“However, one thing most lenders will agree upon is that today’s subprime borrower is less delinquent than those in the past.”

Findings from the report also showed that automotive repossessions jumped 16.9 percent, going from 0.43 percent in the first quarter 2012 to 0.50 percent in the first quarter 2013. While repossession rates for banks, captives and credit unions are all down year over year by as much as 14.9 percent, rates for finance companies increased by 52.1 percent. In spite of the increase, overall repossession rates are still relatively low when compared with the peak rate of 0.71 percent in the first quarter 2010.

Additionally, total dollar volume of automotive loans rose 9.6 percent to $726 billion in the first quarter 2013, compared with $663 billion in the year-ago quarter. Banks increased loan portfolios by $20 billion, finance companies by $18 billion, credit unions by $14 billion and captive finance companies by $12 billion.