2013 Best Retained Value^® Awards

Edmunds.com's Best Retained Value® Awards are part of our continuing efforts to highlight vehicle value for consumers. The awards recognize the brands and models that have the highest projected private party residual value five years after their launch, expressed as a percentage of their average True Market Value® (TMV®) during their first five months in the market (or, for vehicles introduced in November or December of 2012, through March 2013) . We assume 15,000 miles driven per year.

A reliable assessment of a vehicle's resale value can be a critical piece of information for car buyers. Smart car shoppers will choose a car with high retained value so they can maximize its worth at trade-in or sale. And for consumers who lease, selecting a car with strong resale value is just as important: Resale value is a key factor in determining the monthly lease payment.

Jeep and Acura took home the top prizes this year. Jeep won in the non-luxury division with a projected 50.6 percent residual value, and Acura won the luxury crown with a projected residual value of 45.1 percent. These awards are based on each carmaker's 2013 models that launched prior to the end of 2012. In addition, Edmunds named Best Retained Value® Award winners in 22 model-level categories.

All makes with more than 100,000 unit sales in 2012 were eligible for this year's brand-level Best Retained Value® Awards. All model-year 2013 vehicles that were launched by the end of 2012 and had unit sales in March 2013 that were at least 20 percent of the average unit sales for the models in its segment were eligible for this year's model-level Best Retained Value® Awards. Edmunds determined each model's competitive segment based on its body type and the sales-weighted average MSRP of all available styles (excluding destination charges) of that model's body type.