• Check out this ranking of the new vehicles with the worst residual value after one year.
As we all know, when you drive a new vehicle off a dealership lot, it immediately loses much of its value. After that, well, a lot depends on the model. Market analyses can tell us the percentage a model loses after one, two or three years on the market.
When the time comes to buy, it's important to know which vehicles offer the best residual values - as well as the worst.
The iSeeCars group has published the results of a study on the resale value of vehicles after a full year on the market. Some of the results are frightening.
As much as we know that since the pandemic, used vehicles tend to retain a better value, there are some very big exceptions to this rule.
Starting with the Mercedes-EQ EQS, the brand's flagship electric sedan. In percentage terms, the car loses 47.8 percent of its value in its first year on the market, which is enormous. Some models lose only half that over a three-year period.
The EQS is followed by the Nissan LEAF, which sees its value melt by 45.7 percent in the first 12 months. The EQS and LEAF are the only two vehicles to lose more than 40 percent in the first year.
In third place is the Jaguar F-Pace, an aging model on the market that has never enjoyed a good reputation for reliability. In its case, the decline was 35.4 percent. In fourth place is the Alfa Romeo Giulia, for much the same reasons, at 33.4 percent. This is just ahead of the Kia EV6 at 33.3 percent, which completes our top 5.
Positions 6 to 10 are very close. We find, in order, the Hyundai Ioniq 5 (32.9 percent), the Volkswagen ID. 4 (32.9 percent), the Alfa Romeo Stelvio (32.3 percent), the Nissan Murano (32.0 percent) and the Mercedes-Benz S-Class (31.5 percent).
If you haven't made up your mind yet, and you're thinking short-term for your next vehicle, one of these models might be worth avoiding.
Of course, beyond the predictable presence of vehicles with a poor reputation for reliability, we can’t help but notice several electric products. It's important to keep in mind here that residual values can vary from region to region, particularly where people are more inclined to buy electric.
A Hyundai Ioniq 5, for example, certainly loses less value in Quebec and British Columbia, where used EVs are in high demand.
Nevertheless, the iSeeCars rankings give us an interesting picture of the current situation.
