Land Rover with its Range Rover Sport took the top spot in ALG's Residual Value Awards for Premium brands this year.
With new vehicles sales continuing to steam roll through the year, finding reasons to purchase one type over another can be a difficult task. For some, which brand will lose the least money may sway the final choice. If that’s the final piece to the purchase puzzle, then it would appear Toyota and Land Rover are the brands to buy.
ALG announced the two were the winners of its 15th annual Residual Value Awards (RVA), for Premium Brand and Mainstream Brand, respectively.
In addition to the brands, the company also honors vehicles in 26 segments that are forecast to retain the highest percentage of their Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price after a three-year period.
“Residual value is important for automakers and consumers because it’s a complete indicator of the vehicle’s future value, accounting for quality, durability and brand desirability among other factors,” said Larry Dominique, president of ALG and executive vice president of TrueCar, in a statement.
“The award recipients demonstrate strong forecasted returns on investments for their owners.”
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Land Rover’s overall win among premium manufacturers is the first time the marque has taken the top spot. In the mainstream arena, Toyota capture five segment awards, including the Toyota Prius v wagon overtaking last year’s winner, the Prius c subcompact car, in the alternative-fuel category; the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck winning a 14th straight RVA; and the Toyota Tundra winning its fourth consecutive RVA. Toyota’s premium products also took home three RVAs – the Lexus IS, Lexus GX and Toyota Land Cruiser.
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“Even in a robust automotive industry, where competition is fierce, we’ve seen automakers keep incentive spending down, which helps maintain high residual values,” said Dominique. “That benefits consumers and businesses, helping their vehicles retain strong values and leading to lower overall costs of ownership.”
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In addition, a few past winners reclaimed their crowns this time around: the Subaru Outback and Mini Hardtop. Eight vehicles earned RVAs for the first time, including:
- Dodge Charger (Fullsize Car)
- Subaru WRX (Sports Car)
- Toyota Prius v (Alt-Fuel Vehicle)
- Chevrolet Tahoe (Fullsize Utility Vehicle)
- Ford Transit Connect (Midsize Commercial Van)
- Hyundai Genesis (Premium Fullsize Car)
- Audi TT (Premium Sports Car)
- Porsche Macan (Premium Compact Utility Vehicle)
“It is great to see such a diverse mix of brands winning this year,” Dominique noted. “It shows the industry as a whole continues to improve residual values, benefitting consumers and automakers alike.”
Below is the full list of 2015 ALG RVA winners:
- Subcompact Car: Honda Fit
- Compact Car: Mazda3
- Midsize Car: Subaru Legacy
- Fullsize: Dodge Charger
- Alt-Fuel Vehicle: Toyota Prius X
- Sports Car: Subaru WRX
- Minivan: Honday Odyssey
- Subcompact Utility Vehicle: Mini Countryman
- Compact Utility Vehicle: Honda CR-V
- Midsize Utility Vehicle (two row): Subaru Outback
- Midsize Utility Vehicle (three row): Toyota Highlander
- Fullsize Utility Vehicle: Chevrolet Tahoe
- Off-Road Utility Vehicle: Toyota 4Runner
- Midsize Pickup: Toyota Tacoma
- Fullsize Pickup: Toyota Tundra
- Midsize Commercial Van: Ford Transit Connect
- Fullsize Commercial Van: Mercedes-Benz Sprinter
- Premium Compact Car: Mini Hardtop
- Premium Midsize Car: Lexus IS
- Premium Fullsize Car: Hyundai Genesis
- Premium Executive Car: Porsche Panamera
- Premium Sports Car: Audi TT
- Premium Compact Utility Vehicle: Porsche Macan
- Premium Midsize Utility Vehicle (two row): Land Rover Range Rover Sport
- Premium Midsize Utility Vehicle (three row): Lexus GX
- Premium Fullsize Utility Vehicle: Toyota Land Cruiser
Actual resale (not its’ leasing impact) is largely regional, and even local, but this list is just too quirky to ignore. Land Rover wins the resale game? And a Dodge product appeared on this list at all? A Porsche Panamera is the best bet for “premium executive car” resale? Is it the only car in that category?