SANTA BARBARA, Calif. -

ALG announced the winners of its 14th annual Residual Value Awards on Monday, and while a repeat winner topped the Mainstream Brand category, a seven-year streak was broken on the Premium Brand side.

For the first time since 2005, a non-Japanese brand took top honors among premium brands, as Mercedes-Benz earned this distinction for 2013.

Winning the Mainstream Brand category for the second year in a row was Honda.

There were also 24 vehicle segments awards, eight of which were won by Toyota, the most of any brand. Audi and Honda each took three categories.

“Toyota, Audi and Honda captured the most segment honors due to the consistent high value of all their products,” said Larry Dominique, ALG president.

“Honda was named top Mainstream Brand due to their prudent use of incentives — $1,000 lower than the mainstream average — and low rental fleet penetration. These factors help maintain vehicle value, which tremendously benefits consumers.”

Dominique added: “Residual value is critical to automakers and consumers alike because it’s a complete indicator of the vehicle’s value, taking into account quality, durability, brand desirability and other factors. For vehicle owners, residual value forecasts what their return on investment will be, and the Residual Value Awards clearly show which products will best retain their value over the next 36 months.”

As the awards were announced, some of the brands themselves offered a bit of feedback.

“Providing long-term value for our customers is a top priority at Honda,” said Michael Accavitti, senior vice president of automobile operations at American Honda. “Honda’s commitment to retail sales leadership through top-quality, well-equipped vehicles is a major differentiator for our brand that will pay dividends to our customers for years to come.”

Toyota group vice president and general manager Bill Fay chimed in, noting: “We pride ourselves on offering the highest quality products at a great value to our customers. With some of the best residual values in the industry, Toyota customers can sleep at night knowing that they have made a sound investment.”

New to the RVA brand honors this year was a different methodology, the Residual Value Brand Index. ALG explained that this is designed to make sure that brands which are heavy on the low-residual segments — like larger trucks and SUVs, for instance — are not disadvantaged.

Sharing how the new methodology has had an impact, ALG indicated that GMC and Toyota, for example, have had stronger residual positioning, while Buick's score has gone down.

“Trucks historically have lower residual value due to the work and abuse they endure, so manufacturers that have sold a high volume of trucks have been adversely affected in previous brand rankings,” said Eric Lyman, vice president of content and partner development at ALG.

“This new index is a better way to equally measure brands against each other, regardless of the segments in which they compete.”

The complete list of recipients by segment is as follows:

  • Mainstream Brand: Honda
  • Premium Brand: Mercedes-Benz
  • Subcompact Car: Hyundai Accent
  • Compact Car: Mazda Mazda3
  • Midsize Car: Honda Accord
  • Full-Size Car: Toyota Avalon
  • Sports Car: Chevrolet Camaro
  • Alt-Fuel Vehicle: Toyota Prius c
  • Minivan: Honda Odyssey
  • Subcompact Utility: Vehicle Kia Soul
  • Compact Utility Vehicle: Honda CR-V
  • Midsize Utility Vehicle — Two-Row: Hyundai Santa Fe Sport
  • Midsize Utility Vehicle — Three-Row: Toyota Highlander
  • Full-Size Utility Vehicle: Toyota Sequoia
  • Off-Road Utility Vehicle: Toyota FJ Cruiser
  • Midsize Pickup: Toyota Tacoma
  • Full-Size Pickup: Toyota Tundra
  • Premium Compact Car: Mercedes-Benz CLA-Class
  • Premium Midsize Car: Audi A5
  • Premium Full-Size Car: Audi A6
  • Premium Executive Car: Porsche Panamera
  • Premium Sports Car: Chevrolet Corvette
  • Premium Compact Utility Vehicle: Acura RDX
  • Premium Midsize Utility Vehicle — Two-Row: Land Rover Range Rover Sport
  • Premium Midsize Utility Vehicle — Three-Row: Audi Q7
  • Premium Full-Size Utility Vehicle Toyota Land Cruiser

Complete brand rankings (based on RVA segmentation), along with index scores, are below.

Mainstream Brand Rankings
1. Honda: 5.0 Index Points
2. Toyota: 4.7
3. Subaru: 4.5
4. Hyundai: 3.4
5. Mazda: 1.8
6. GMC: 1.4
7. Kia: 1.2
8. Scion: 0.7
9. Nissan: -0.8
10. Chevrolet: -2
11. Dodge: -3.4
12. Volkswagen: -3.7
13. Ford: -3.8
14. Buick: -4.3

Luxury Brand Rankings
1. Mercedes-Benz: 2.4 Index Points
2. Acura: 1.8
3. Audi: 1.7
4. Infiniti: 0.9
5. Lexus: 0.7
6. Land Rover: 0.4
7. BMW: -0.4
8. Cadillac: -2
9. Volvo: -4
10. Lincoln: -7.1

 

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