Edmunds reported that 29.6% of trade-ins toward a new vehicle purchase in the U.S. had negative equity (owed more than the vehicle was worth) in Q2’26, up from 26.6% over the same period last year. High prices brought on by low inventory in 2022 and elevated interest rates were cited as catalysts for the increase in negative equity. Average negative equity totaled $6,884 in Q2’26, up from $6,754 in Q2’25.