NADA Used Car Guide Names Top Truck and SUV Retention Values

McLean, Va. – Large pickup trucks have the highest retained value of all three-year-old light duty trucks and SUVs at 62.5% of the Manufacturer Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) for a typically equipped model, said the National Automobile Dealers Association (NADA) Used Car Guide in the March edition of NADA Perspective, a monthly industry trends report. Mid-size vans ranked the lowest at 49.2%.

“Americans have always had a penchant for pickups,” said Jonathan Banks, executive automotive analyst, NADA Used Car Guide. “A recovering housing market, better fuel economy and a wide range of trim levels have helped increase demand and keep retention values among the highest in the industry.”

The highest retaining vehicle of all the segments is the Toyota Tacoma in the mid-size pickup segment at 80.7%, while the lowest retaining vehicle is the Suzuki Grand Vitara in the mainstream compact utility segment at 41.5%.

In the mid-size utility segment, the Toyota 4Runner topped the list with retention at 79.8%, which made it the second-highest retaining vehicle in the industry behind the Toyota Tacoma mid-size pickup. Toyota brand vehicles placed within the top two highest retention values in each of the mainstream segments. Toyota also topped the luxury large SUV segment with its Land Cruiser.

The Audi Q5 led the luxury compact utility segment with 67.8% retention and is also among the segment’s top sellers. Although the segment is limited in supply, the leap in sales for the most-liked models is evidence of its booming demand.

The hybrid SUV and truck segment on average retains at a rate of 54.3%, which is lower than nearly all other respective segments, with the exception of mid-size vans. Toyota has two vehicles in the top three spots; in first place, the Highlander’s retention score of 64.4% beat out the GMC Yukon Denali and Lexus RX by a combined average of 6.3 points.

“Although hybrid truck retention was lower than that of most other segments, it was almost six points higher than hybrid car retention,” said Banks. “This is consistent with overall truck performance, as the group’s retention largely outperformed that of cars.”

NADA calculated retention figures for the most prevalent trim level of three-year-old light duty trucks and SUVs. For the purposes of this report, retention is a function of a three-month average (Jan. 2014 – March 2014) of NADA’s average trade-in value divided by a vehicle’s typically-equipped MSRP, not including any incentives or rebates available at time of purchase.