Money Rising interest rates and prices hurt October auto sales, with SUVs still faring better than cars November 1, 2018November 1, 2018 Nathan Bomey, USA TODAY Comments Off on Rising interest rates and prices hurt October auto sales, with SUVs still faring better than cars Rising interest rates and higher prices are beginning to throttle U.S. auto sales. Interest rates on new vehicles averaged 6.2 percent in October.