Canadian Black Book has announced its 2021 Best Retained Value award winners for vehicles in 23 segments that have retained the highest percentage of their original MSRP after four years.
Of the vehicles measured, data for the 2021 award indicates that 2017 model year ones demonstrated impressive value retention by holding 61.5 per cent of its original MSRP, industry wide. CBB said the industry average for 2020 was 56.6 per cent, and 52 per cent in 2019, meaning that used vehicles are holding more value than before.
“In terms of retained values, the past year has been a wild ride to say the least. We have been through steep record setting declines last spring, followed by rapid increases culminating in record level retained values in Canada across the board,” said Yolanda Biswah, Vice President of Sales at Canadian Black Book. “Much of the gains have been propped up by economic phenomena directly related to the global pandemic.”
Yolanda Biswah, Vice President of Sales at Canadian Black Book
CBB said the overarching factor contributing to the significant gains in retained value has been supply, or rather the lack thereof thanks to disruptions stemming from early in the pandemic. At the time, retail traffic slowed to a crawl due to COVID-19 restrictions, which stalled trade-in activity for months and impacted rental agency business.
“Repossessions were largely put on hold for consumer relief during the difficult economic times, which have still yet to get back to pre-pandemic levels, again keeping those vehicles away from auction and used lots,” said CBB in its news release. “People have been driving less and therefore keeping cars longer and therefore not trading in.”
Other factors, such as a global shortage of microchips, have also caused shortages in new vehicles that in turn helped to increase the demand for used vehicles.
On CBB’s Best Retained Value Award winners, the three “Overall Brand Awards” for OEMs that hold the most value among their product line for 2021 include: Honda (for cars), Toyota (for trucks/SUVs), and Porsche (for luxury brands). Across all car segments overall, on average they held 53.1 per cent of the original MSRP after four years (across nearly 3,000 trims), while trucks/vans/SUVs held 63.6 per cent of the original MSRP (across nearly 13,000 trims).
“It’s not surprising that trucks and SUVs hold value better, as these segments are the ones that command more consumer demand here in Canada, which drives up the prices,” said Biswah.
