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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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Acura, Honda, Toyota dominate ALG Residual Value awards

Chris Tutor — Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:33:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Acura, Chevrolet, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Scion, Subaru, Toyota

Drive a new car off the lot and, boom, it's used and not worth nearly what you own on it. But to help buyers counter this to the best of their abilities, ALG has released its 14th annual list of best bets for retained value.

Toyota stands out from the crowd with nine total awards on the list, including its Scion and Lexus brands. But Honda took the top spot among mainstream brands with Hyundai second and Scion third. Subaru is fourth and Mazda fifth. In the premium brand rankings, Acura is ranked Number One, while Infiniti and Audi bring up second and third. In fourth place is Lexus and in fifth, Mercedes-Benz. Chevrolet is listed as number fifteen - last place on the mainstream list, while Lincoln is at the bottom of premium brands in tenth position.

"Hyundai's ascent as a brand is nothing short of impressive," said Larry Dominique, president of ALG in a press release. "Since 2007, when the brand ranked in the bottom quartile for residual value, Hyundai has delivered well-executed product, and has kept incentives and fleet - two elements that can quickly damage residual value - in check. And, as demonstrated by the redesigned Santa Fe Sport, they continue to deliver."

ALG also looked at residual values within specific segments. Among sub compact cars, the Honda Fit retains the most residual value on average. Honda Accord (pictured) was tops in midsize cars and the Odyssey among minivans. Compact car goes to Hyundai's Elantra and fullsize car to that company's Azera. The Koreans also excelled with the Santa Fe Sport in the midsize utility vehicle category.

Toyota products show up nine times in the segments with the Prius C taking alt-fuel vehicle, Scion FR-S in sports car, the FJ Cruiser among compact utility vehicles and Sequoia best among full size utilities. Toyotas beat out the domestics in pickup trucks, too, with the Tacoma taking midsize category and Tundra the full size division. The Land Cruiser kept the most residual value when compared to other premium full size utility vehicles and premium cars from Lexus took the full size (GS 350) and executive (LS 460) categories.

You can see the full lists and press release below.

Continue reading Acura, Honda, Toyota dominate ALG Residual Value awards

Acura, Honda, Toyota dominate ALG Residual Value awards originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 26 Nov 2012 16:33:00 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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