Canadian Black Book announces its 2017 Best Retained Value Awards winners.
I have always thought of the Detroit and Montreal Auto Shows as Christmas in January, followed shortly thereafter by the Toronto show in February. It’s always exciting to see new vehicles debut and catch up with friends, new and old.
More importantly, for us at Canadian Black Book, it is also when we recognize and celebrate a select group of manufacturers, and their products, for excellence in retained value. This year is the 10th Anniversary of our Best Retained Value Awards, which were recently awarded on the eve of the Toronto Auto show.
Consumer education
The Canadian Black Book Best Retained Value Awards acknowledge vehicles that retain the highest percentage of their original Manufacturer’s Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) after four years in the market. This is extremely valuable information for consumers, given that depreciation is the single largest expense of vehicle ownership. The awards are intended to provide consumers with an idea of which vehicles and brands are their best bet for retaining value. For 2017, the awards program analyzed model year 2013 cars and trucks in 20 market segments and looked at value as of the start of the 2017 calendar year.
When we look at our data for this year’s awards we see that, on average, wholesale values are up about one percentage point from last year with an average retained value after four years of 50.6 percent.
Headlines & highlights
Typically there are always some vehicles that are consistent performers, as well as a few surprises. Here are some highlights for 2017.
The venerable Jeep Wrangler takes first place for the seventh consecutive year in the Compact SUV category, and holds 82 percent of its MSRP after four years. That figure breaks the previous record set by the Wrangler in 2016, when it held 79 percent, which was the highest ever. The competition was tough this year and there is a new all-time leader of retained value–the Toyota FJ Cruiser sets a new record for highest ever retained value at 83 percent. With that vehicle leaving Toyota’s lineup, could it be a future collector car?
Speaking of Toyota, for 2017 Toyota nets 8 wins and 18 overall mentions in 2nd or 3rd place, extending their perennial dominance of these awards. It’s worth mentioning that in the mid-size SUV, again this year Toyota sweeps 1st, 2nd and 3rd place.
Want to own the retained value podium? Own one of those! Not surprisingly Toyota is our first ever winner for overall retained value award for trucks and SUVs. This is our first year to award overall brand performance and Toyota is the clear winner in that segment.
Looking now at cars, Subaru picks up a victory for the Subaru XV Crosstrek in the compact car category. Subaru also wins our overall brand award for best retained value for its cars.
This year we also have our first ever first place tie. In the minivan category CBB jointly awards the Toyota Sienna and the Honda Odyssey the trophy. Technically, the Honda Odyssey retains first place again for the minivan category, its seventh win in eight years, but this year sharing the honour with the Sienna.
Recognition by region
Looking at wins by region, Japanese manufacturers lead the way with eleven first place finishes, up two from last year, followed by Europe with eight wins, improving its performance last year by one, and North American brands with two wins, down from four in 2016. Turning to the luxury brands, Porsche earns three victories,
Turning to the luxury brands, Porsche earns three victories, its most ever. Porsche also posts the best overall performance for a luxury brand at 65 percent when it comes to retained value. They received the first ever win for overall Best Retained Value for a luxury brand. On a segment basis, small pickups retain the most value at 73 percent, but this number is somewhat influenced by the fact that there are very few models in the category and one of them, the Toyota Tacoma, is a real value champ at 82 percent.
On a segment basis, small pickups retain the most value at 73 percent, but this number is somewhat influenced by the fact that there are very few models in the category and one of them, the Toyota Tacoma, is a real value champ at 82 percent. Full size luxury SUVs are next at 60 percent, full sized pickups 59 percent, and full sized SUVs 58 percent.
Sub-compact cars do not fare well at 37 percent retained value after four years, which reflects that passenger car tastes have strongly shifted away from compact cars to trucks, SUVs and crossovers.
Secret to success
We are often asked what the secret to winning is. Why do certain vehicles and brands consistently do well in our awards? There really is no secret other than offering vehicles for sale that Canadians find inherently desirable and being a good custodian of your brand. Making them desirable comes down to good design and offering the features consumers want at a fair price. Being a good custodian of the brand equates to good corporate behaviour, and avoiding fire-sale incentive pricing that can deflate the value of the product.
Congratulations to all the winners for 2017! When you consider all the good products out there this is a significant achievement! There is more information on the awards, and past winners, at CanadianBlackBook.com. Consumers can also research our projected future value for new vehicles that they may be considering for purchase.
