Retaining substantial resale value is a game-changer in the auto industry. “One of the biggest concerns for many new-vehicle owners is depreciation,” said Jonathan Banks, Vice President of Vehicle Valuations & Analytics at J.D. Power in a company press release. Vehicles that manage to do so usually have higher residual values, appealing to both consumers and automakers. For this reason, J.D. Power recognized the 2019 models that their database showed to have the lowest depreciation costs. For new-car buyers and dealers, the awards can further help evaluate models.
Categories and Criteria
J.D. Power’s Resale Value Awards divided vehicles into two groups: car segments, and SUV, van and pickup segments. The car segments covered cars defined as small, midsized, premium small, midsize sporty, midsize premium, midsize premium sporty, compact, compact sporty, compact premium, compact premium sporty, large, and large premium. Some winners included the Kia Optima, Ford Mustang, and Subaru WRX.
The SUV, van and pickup segments were comprised of thirteen divisions, including small SUVs, midsize SUVs, minivans, large light-duty pickup trucks, and more. The Land Rover LR4, Acura RDX, and Chevrolet Silverado 1500 all made placed on the chart. To choose winners, J.D Power looked at a selection of 256 models, judging them based on a sample of over 630,000 transactions, with an average of 2,400 transactions per vehicle. These calculations were from records of cars that were three years old when they sold during the first half of 2019. They took used vehicle wholesale prices and divided them by the original price of the car to arrive at a final decision.
Award Highlights
…And the winner is the GMC Sierra 3500. The truck not only came in first in its class of large, heavy-duty pickups, it also dominated the industry overall with the highest resale value. Not to be outshone, Lexus took home the title of most awarded brand. The manufacturer cleaned up with six model-level awards for their Lexus CT, Lexus RC, Lexus GS, Lexus NX, Lexus RX, and Lexus LX. Honda, Toyota, and Porsche all showed nicely, earning five, four, and three model-level awards respectively. Their winning models were: Honda: Fit, Civic, Accord, CR-V, and Honda Odyssey Toyota: Prius, Tacoma, 4-Runner, Tundra Porsche: Cayman, 911, Panamera Other highlights included the Audi Q3, Chevrolet Tahoe, Dodge Challenger, Dodge Charger, Scion tC, and Subaru Crosstrek, each of which came in first for their individual categories. The majority of segments had three models representing first, second, and third place winners. However, there were some with fewer models named because no one else performed above the category average. These were the midsize sporty cars, compact premium sporty car, minivan, large light-duty pickup, compact MPV and midsize pickup. Those last two segments featured only one vehicle each, both from Toyota (the Prius and Tacoma). All in all, the vehicles featured on the awards roster represent safer bets for dealers and shoppers eyeing a used car as we head into the second half of the year.
