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Residual prices of used electric cars lag behind their gas counterparts

Zach Bowman — Wed, 19 Dec 2012 08:27:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Hatchback, Chevrolet, Nissan, Electric

The Detroit Free Press reports electric vehicles like the Nissan Leaf and Chevrolet Volt aren't maintaining the same residual values as their internal combustion counterparts.

Kelly Blue Book says the 2012 Nissan Leaf will hold around 20 percent of its value after five years while the Nissan Sentra will retain around 30 percent of its value. KBB predicts the Volt, meanwhile, will be worth 30 percent of its MSRP after the same amount of time, which is a full eight percent less than the 2013 Chevrolet Cruze. On average, a used car is expected to hold 36.6 percent of its value after five years, according to ALG.

Of course, those figures shift a bit when the $7,500 federal tax credit on EVs is taken into account. Since the cash lowers the new-car price for the Leaf and the Volt, the credit can actually make the vehicles worth less as a used car on a percentage of original value basis.

Residual prices of used electric cars lag behind their gas counterparts originally appeared on Autoblog on Wed, 19 Dec 2012 08:27:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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Toyota tops Kelley Blue Book best resale value awards

Jeremy Korzeniewski — Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:58:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Lexus, Toyota

According to the experts-of-such-things at Kelley Blue Book, the average vehicle will only retain about 35 percent of its original value after the initial five-year ownership period, often making depreciation the greatest expense incurred by drivers over that time period. That's a hefty chunk of change to be sure, so a vehicle's anticipated resale value should be of prime concern when shopping for your next car or truck.

Since 2003, KBB has published its Best Resale Value Awards, which seek to inform consumers of projected resale value for any particular model after five years and 75,000 miles worth of service. Considering its historic reputation for quality, it comes as little surprise that Toyota takes home the trophy as the brand with the best projected resale value and that its subsidiary Lexus grabs the award in the luxury category. We have to wonder, though, how the company's many current woes might damage its perceived value down the line.

Making up the Top 10 Models for 2010 are the Audi A5, BMW M3, Chevrolet Corvette and Camaro SS, Honda CR-V, Mini Cooper and Clubman along with the Prius, RAV4 and Tacoma from Toyota. See here for a more comprehensive list and make the jump for the official press release.

[Source: KBB]

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Toyota tops Kelley Blue Book best resale value awards originally appeared on Autoblog on Thu, 03 Dec 2009 07:58:00 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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Toyota's residual values seen falling more than competitors

Sam Abuelsamid — Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:26:00 EST

Filed under: Car Buying, Trends, Toyota, Earnings/Financials

One of the strongest selling points that Japanese brand vehicles like Toyota and Honda have had going for them over the past decade or two has been the stronger resale values that have resulted from perceived higher quality. While increased depreciation doesn't matter much to people who buy their vehicles and keep them for more than a few years, it does hurt manufacturers. In recent years, a large portion of those pricey trucks and SUVs have been leased, where the monthly payments are largely based on the vehicle's expected residual value at the end of the term. When that residual is lower than expected, the automaker's financing arm loses money - a phenomenon that has been a particularly painful reality for Detroit's automakers.

Now, like the rest of the industry, Toyota is starting to get hit by falling residuals on both cars and trucks. Some of that is surely due to the general market conditions right now, but some critics suggest that the fact that Toyota's residuals are falling faster than other companies could point to growing awareness of quality issues. At the end of 2008, an average three-year-old Toyota was worth 46.5% of its original value compared to 50.5% two years earlier. Like other brands, Toyota's trucks have been especially hard hit, dropping from over 60% to just 45.4%. In particular, Tundra residuals are on a big downturn, nosediving to 40.1% from 59.5% just one year earlier. Despite the drop, the Tundra's resale value remains higher than Chevrolet's Silverado (39.8%, down from 49.6%) and Ford's F-150 (32.2%, down from 45.6%), so while all is not lost, the race for residual supremacy is getting tighter. Thanks for the tip, Leonard!

[Source: Automotive News - sub req'd]

Toyota's residual values seen falling more than competitors originally appeared on Autoblog on Mon, 16 Mar 2009 11:26:00 EST. Please see our terms for use of feeds.

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