Supplemental Consolidating Data (Cash Flows) (Details) - USD ($) $ in Thousands	12 Months Ended
	Dec. 31, 2018	Dec. 31, 2017	Dec. 31, 2016
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	$ 531,451	$ 521,759	$ 692,164
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization of intangibles	264,863	222,188	209,555
Amortization of deferred loan origination costs	81,315	82,911	86,681
Amortization of financing origination fees	8,367	8,045	9,252
Provision for long-term employee benefits	36,481	29,900	38,273
Employee benefit plan contributions and payments	(10,544)	(63,277)	(55,809)
Stock compensation expense	35,539	32,491	32,336
Net change in wholesale finance receivables related to sales	(56,538)	35,172	(3,233)
Provision for credit losses	106,870	132,444	136,617
Gain on off-balance sheet asset-backed securitization	0	0	(9,269)
Loss on debt extinguishment	0	0	118
Deferred income taxes	(33,981)	50,855	(165)
Other, net	37,554	8,559	(6,907)
Changes in current assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net	9,143	(18,149)	(45,934)
Finance receivables – accrued interest and other	773	(1,313)	(1,489)
Inventories	(31,059)	(20,584)	85,072
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	196,192	10,128	38,237
Derivative instruments	473	1,866	(3,413)
Other	29,022	(27,934)	(27,747)
Total adjustments	674,470	483,302	482,175
Net cash provided by operating activities	1,205,921	1,005,061	1,174,339
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures	(213,516)	(206,294)	(256,263)
Origination of finance receivables	(3,752,817)	(3,591,948)	(3,664,495)
Collections on finance receivables	3,325,669	3,228,311	3,175,031
Purchases of marketable securities	10,007	0	0
Proceeds from finance receivables sold	0	0	312,571
Sales and redemptions of marketable securities	0	6,916	40,014
Other	(11,598)	547	411
Net cash used by investing activities	(662,269)	(562,468)	(392,731)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of medium-term notes	1,591,828	893,668	1,193,396
Repayments of medium-term notes	(877,488)	(800,000)	(451,336)
Repayments of securitization debt	(257,869)	(444,671)	(665,400)
Borrowings of asset-backed commercial paper	509,742	469,932	62,396
Repayments of asset-backed commercial paper	(212,729)	(176,227)	(71,500)
Net (decrease) increase in credit facilities and unsecured commercial paper	(135,356)	212,809	(145,812)
Dividends paid	(245,810)	(251,862)	(252,321)
Purchase of common stock for treasury	(390,606)	(465,263)	(465,341)
Excess tax benefits from share-based payments	0	0	2,251
Issuance of common stock under employee stock option plans	3,525	11,353	15,782
Net cash used by financing activities	(14,763)	(550,261)	(777,885)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	(15,351)	26,747	(9,443)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	513,538	(80,921)	(5,720)
Cash and cash equivalents:
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—beginning of period	746,210	827,131	832,851
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	513,538	(80,921)	(5,720)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—end of period	1,259,748	746,210	827,131
Reportable Legal Entities | HDMC Entities
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	553,640	578,727	707,614
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization of intangibles	260,707	215,639	202,122
Amortization of deferred loan origination costs	0	0	0
Amortization of financing origination fees	663	655	654
Provision for long-term employee benefits	36,481	29,900	38,273
Employee benefit plan contributions and payments	(10,544)	(63,277)	(55,809)
Stock compensation expense	31,855	29,570	29,811
Net change in wholesale finance receivables related to sales	0	0	0
Provision for credit losses	0	0	0
Gain on off-balance sheet asset-backed securitization			0
Loss on debt extinguishment			0
Deferred income taxes	(41,905)	29,949	7,772
Other, net	36,840	4,858	(7,041)
Changes in current assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net	43,613	(6,792)	(67,621)
Finance receivables – accrued interest and other	0	0	0
Inventories	(31,059)	(20,584)	85,072
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	152,930	9,753	26,005
Derivative instruments	337	1,785	(3,413)
Other	39,031	(31,868)	(25,415)
Total adjustments	518,949	199,588	230,410
Net cash provided by operating activities	1,072,589	778,315	938,024
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures	(197,905)	(193,204)	(245,316)
Origination of finance receivables	0	0	0
Collections on finance receivables	0	0	0
Purchases of marketable securities	10,007
Proceeds from finance receivables sold			0
Sales and redemptions of marketable securities		6,916	40,014
Other	(11,598)	547	411
Net cash used by investing activities	(219,510)	(185,741)	(204,891)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of medium-term notes	0	0	0
Repayments of medium-term notes	0	0	0
Repayments of securitization debt	0	0	0
Borrowings of asset-backed commercial paper	0	0	0
Repayments of asset-backed commercial paper	0	0	0
Net (decrease) increase in credit facilities and unsecured commercial paper	0	0	0
Dividends paid	(245,810)	(251,862)	(252,321)
Purchase of common stock for treasury	(390,606)	(465,263)	(465,341)
Excess tax benefits from share-based payments			2,251
Issuance of common stock under employee stock option plans	3,525	11,353	15,782
Net cash used by financing activities	(632,891)	(705,772)	(699,629)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	(13,826)	25,844	(8,407)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	206,362	(87,354)	25,097
Cash and cash equivalents:
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—beginning of period	338,186	425,540	400,443
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	206,362	(87,354)	25,097
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—end of period	544,548	338,186	425,540
Reportable Legal Entities | HDFS Entities
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	212,727	139,234	167,445
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization of intangibles	4,156	6,549	7,433
Amortization of deferred loan origination costs	81,315	82,911	86,681
Amortization of financing origination fees	7,704	7,390	8,598
Provision for long-term employee benefits	0	0	0
Employee benefit plan contributions and payments	0	0	0
Stock compensation expense	3,684	2,921	2,525
Net change in wholesale finance receivables related to sales	0	0	0
Provision for credit losses	106,870	132,444	136,617
Gain on off-balance sheet asset-backed securitization			(9,269)
Loss on debt extinguishment			118
Deferred income taxes	7,716	21,497	(7,705)
Other, net	798	3,498	239
Changes in current assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net	0	0	0
Finance receivables – accrued interest and other	773	(1,313)	(1,489)
Inventories	0	0	0
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	(1,778)	(11,497)	25,027
Derivative instruments	136	81	0
Other	(10,216)	(1,684)	(2,332)
Total adjustments	201,158	242,797	246,443
Net cash provided by operating activities	413,885	382,031	413,888
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures	(15,611)	(13,090)	(10,947)
Origination of finance receivables	(7,192,063)	(7,109,624)	(7,420,177)
Collections on finance receivables	6,719,362	6,786,702	6,936,140
Purchases of marketable securities	0
Proceeds from finance receivables sold			312,571
Sales and redemptions of marketable securities		0	0
Other	0	0	0
Net cash used by investing activities	(488,312)	(336,012)	(182,413)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of medium-term notes	1,591,828	893,668	1,193,396
Repayments of medium-term notes	(877,488)	(800,000)	(451,336)
Repayments of securitization debt	(257,869)	(444,671)	(665,400)
Borrowings of asset-backed commercial paper	509,742	469,932	62,396
Repayments of asset-backed commercial paper	(212,729)	(176,227)	(71,500)
Net (decrease) increase in credit facilities and unsecured commercial paper	(135,356)	212,809	(145,812)
Dividends paid	(235,000)	(196,000)	(183,000)
Purchase of common stock for treasury	0	0	0
Excess tax benefits from share-based payments			0
Issuance of common stock under employee stock option plans	0	0	0
Net cash used by financing activities	383,128	(40,489)	(261,256)
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	(1,525)	903	(1,036)
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	307,176	6,433	(30,817)
Cash and cash equivalents:
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—beginning of period	408,024	401,591	432,408
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	307,176	6,433	(30,817)
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—end of period	715,200	408,024	401,591
Eliminations
Cash flows from operating activities:
Net income	(234,916)	(196,202)	(182,895)
Adjustments to reconcile net income to net cash provided by operating activities:
Depreciation and amortization of intangibles	0	0	0
Amortization of deferred loan origination costs	0	0	0
Amortization of financing origination fees	0	0	0
Provision for long-term employee benefits	0	0	0
Employee benefit plan contributions and payments	0	0	0
Stock compensation expense	0	0	0
Net change in wholesale finance receivables related to sales	(56,538)	35,172	(3,233)
Provision for credit losses	0	0	0
Gain on off-balance sheet asset-backed securitization			0
Loss on debt extinguishment			0
Deferred income taxes	208	(591)	(232)
Other, net	(84)	203	(105)
Changes in current assets and liabilities:
Accounts receivable, net	(34,470)	(11,357)	21,687
Finance receivables – accrued interest and other	0	0	0
Inventories	0	0	0
Accounts payable and accrued liabilities	45,040	11,872	(12,795)
Derivative instruments	0	0	0
Other	207	5,618	0
Total adjustments	(45,637)	40,917	5,322
Net cash provided by operating activities	(280,553)	(155,285)	(177,573)
Cash flows from investing activities:
Capital expenditures	0	0	0
Origination of finance receivables	3,439,246	3,517,676	3,755,682
Collections on finance receivables	(3,393,693)	(3,558,391)	(3,761,109)
Purchases of marketable securities	0
Proceeds from finance receivables sold			0
Sales and redemptions of marketable securities		0	0
Other	0	0	0
Net cash used by investing activities	45,553	(40,715)	(5,427)
Cash flows from financing activities:
Proceeds from issuance of medium-term notes	0	0	0
Repayments of medium-term notes	0	0	0
Repayments of securitization debt	0	0	0
Borrowings of asset-backed commercial paper	0	0	0
Repayments of asset-backed commercial paper	0	0	0
Net (decrease) increase in credit facilities and unsecured commercial paper	0	0	0
Dividends paid	235,000	196,000	183,000
Purchase of common stock for treasury	0	0	0
Excess tax benefits from share-based payments			0
Issuance of common stock under employee stock option plans	0	0	0
Net cash used by financing activities	235,000	196,000	183,000
Effect of exchange rate changes on cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	0	0	0
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	0	0	0
Cash and cash equivalents:
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—beginning of period	0	0	0
Net increase (decrease) in cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash	0	0	0
Cash, cash equivalents and restricted cash—end of period	$ 0	$ 0	$ 0