Each year, J.D. Power publishes a number of studies and rankings on a range of automotive-related themes. One of them looks at depreciation of different makes and models, which is of obvious interest to any potential car buyer who would prefer not to be throwing their hard-earned money needlessly out the window.
Buying a vehicle is not really an investment in the true sense of the word, but since you’ll be buying a car anyways, it helps to know which ones best hold on to their value after five years of ownership.
This year, which brands perform best according to J.D. Power’s criteria? The ranking allots a score of 10 to those makes whose models have depreciated the least over the past five years, 9 to the next-best performers, and so on down the line.
This year five brands earned the best possible score from J.D. Power: three Japanese brands, Lexus, Toyota and Subaru, and two FCA divisions, Jeep and RAM.
Behind them in the second group sit Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, Honda, INFINITI and Mazda.
Earning a score of 8 were Acura, Audi, Chrysler, Dodge, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Porsche and Volkswagen.
The 7 score was shared by Buick, Jaguar and Land Rover.
With six points to their name, Mitsubishi, Volvo… and BMW.
Bringing up the rear with a score of 5 were Fiat and MINI.
The marks were awarded for the performance of a brand’s models as a whole, and are not necessarily indicative of the score earned by each individual model. Also worth keeping in mind is that individual models that depreciate very little will bring up the score of the brand in general. Also, not every banner is included in the J.D. Power ranking.
As for the models that were found by J.D. Power to have depreciated the least over the past five years, we list them here. We’re leaving out the segments each model was placed in, because the organization’s classing of some of the models is debatable.
See our analysis of the models offering the best resale value according to J.D. Power
BMW X1
Honda Fit
Kia Sportage
Acura ILX
Toyota Corolla
Porsche 718 Boxster
Acura RDX
MINI Clubman
Toyota RAV4
Kia Soul
Lexus ES
Chevrolet Camaro
Chevrolet Corvette
Toyota Camry
Toyota Highlander
Lexus GX
Toyota Tacoma
Lexus GS
Toyota Avalon
RAM 3500
Cadillac Escalade
Chevrolet Tahoe
Toyota Tundra
Toyota Sienna
Mercedes-Benz S Class