Autoblog

GM says boosted resale values could save $200M

Jonathon Ramsey — Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:57:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, GM, Earnings/Financials

The average resale value of General Motors vehicles climbed to 44 percent last year, matching that of Chrysler and sitting one percent less than Ford, but still 7.5 percent less than Honda. It's a welcome increase from the post-bankruptcy days of 2009 when 36.5 percent was number upon which lease rates were based. According to Bloomberg, even though that puts GM in line with the overall market rate of 46.5 percent, the company figures it can save from $150 million to $200 million if it can increase its vehicles' end-of-lease value because it won't have to put so much cash on the table to entice lessees.

It won't be a quick fix, GM's North American CFO saying "The key will be great products and pricing and incentive discipline," as well as limiting how many vehicles get sold into rental fleets. It also wants the hot-off-the-line 2014 Chevrolet Impala to be part of the charge, planning to invert its sales chart so that 70 percent of deliveries go to retail customers instead of 30 percent.

GM says boosted resale values could save $200M originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 02 Apr 2013 10:57:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Ford, Hyundai show largest increase in perceived quality, Honda tops

Zach Bowman — Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:15:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc., Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Toyota

ALG reports both Ford and Hyundai have seen substantial jumps in their respective perceived quality, with the Blue Oval enjoying a 37 percent jump since 2008. Hyundai, meanwhile, has seen its figures increase by 25 percent over the same five years. For industry watchers, the news should offer no real shock. Both manufacturers have been on a new-product warpath, offering models laden with fresh design, efficient drivetrain options and plenty of technology while steadily increasing quality. The increase has been enough to push Ford to fourth on the list of brands with the highest perceived quality with a score of 70.5. That score puts Ford just behind Subaru with a score of 71.1.

Ford and Hyundai may have had strong showings, but Honda has snagged top honors among mainstream brands with an 81.3 perceived quality score, followed by Toyota with 80.1. Lexus walked away with the highest rank among luxury brands, followed by Mercedes-Benz and BMW. Cadillac, Lincoln and Jaguar, meanwhile, all fell below the luxury average of 71.2 points.

ALG's Perceived Quality Study surveys more than 3,000 U.S. consumers on a semi-annual basis. Check out the full press release for yourself by scrolling down or read the complete report here.

Continue reading Ford, Hyundai show largest increase in perceived quality, Honda tops

Ford, Hyundai show largest increase in perceived quality, Honda tops originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 11 Jun 2012 14:15:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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What $1 rise in price of gas can do to your SUV's value

Zach Bowman — Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Etc.

According to a new study by Automotive Lease Guide, fuel prices play a huge role in how much your vehicle depreciates over time.No surprise there, but the specifics of the study are a little jarring all the same. USA Today reports that the study found that when gas costs increase by a single dollar, less efficient, large SUVs see their value stumble by a whopping 13 percent. On the other hand, that same rise in fuel prices will cause the value of more fuel efficient models to increase by 10 percent. Of course, as the report notes, those figures only hold true for vehicles on the polar ends of the fuel economy scale.

For full-size sedans and compact SUVs, fuel prices have effectively no impact on resale value whatsoever. ALG says it expects fuel prices to remain close to $3.65 per gallon throughout the remainder of this year. By 2016, however, the price may increase to $4.06 by 2016, just before more stringent fuel economy standards kick in for the first time. Head over to USA Today for a full look at how ALG says fuel prices impact vehicle resale values.

What $1 rise in price of gas can do to your SUV's value originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 20 Jul 2011 14:00:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Residual Value Report: Ford cars make big jump

Zach Bowman — Tue, 08 Jun 2010 09:40:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Earnings/Financials

The Automotive Lease Guide has just released its annual report of residual values. Thanks to slimmed production and lower incentives, both Ford and Chevrolet saw jumps of 11 and 7.5 percentage points, respectively, compared to five years ago, and a number of other manufacturers saw the worth of their products climb as well. Ford's passenger cars managed to rank second in the highest improvement since 2005 with a residual value of 48.8 percent. Both Ford and Chevrolet trucks are counted separately in the survey because of their disproportionately high residual value.

Both Suzuki and Hyundai found themselves on the top five list of improved residual value with 12.6 and 9.1 respective percentage point jumps over 2005 - healthy numbers. But for as much as those brands have improved over the last half decade, others, like Porsche, Volvo and BMW have seen their numbers fall.

Porsche has taken the biggest hit, with the company's residual value falling to 44.4 percent - an 8.2 percentage point drop since 2005.

[Source: Automotive News]

Residual Value Report: Ford cars make big jump originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 08 Jun 2010 09:40:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Remember that whole 'bankruptcy will kill GM and Chrysler residuals?' Not so much.

Chris Shunk — Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Chrysler, GM, Earnings/Financials

Back in late 2008, auto executives from General Motors and Chrysler warned of dire consequences in the event that one of their companies was forced into bankruptcy proceedings. With the help of the federal government, little of that doom and gloom materialized, at least when it comes to used car residuals.

Back in May, Automotive Lease Guide used impending bankruptcy as reason to slash the 36 month residuals of all Chrysler-branded products by a substantial 6% off the original retail price. That dropped the residual value of a Chrysler vehicle to an average of 28.8%, while Dodge and Jeep were at 31.3% and 32.5%, respectively.

Just one month later, with Chrysler's bankruptcy in the rearview mirror, and residuals are nearly back at April levels. Chrysler has climbed nearly four points to 32.5%, Dodge is at 34.8%, and Jeep is now at 37.4%. ALM admits that bankruptcy didn't effect residual values like the company thought it would, and as a result, resale values for GM-branded vehicles won't be downwardly adjusted.

Kelly Blue Book reportedly told Automotive News that some of the bounce-back in residuals is due to the fact that relatively low gas prices are making used trucks and SUVs a bit more appealing to customers. With new car sales in the tank, we suspect used vehicles have been in higher demand as well, helping to boost up residuals.

[Source: Automotive News, sub. req'd]

Remember that whole 'bankruptcy will kill GM and Chrysler residuals?' Not so much. originally appeared on Autoblog on Tue, 14 Jul 2009 14:30:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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