Detroit's auto makers narrowed their longstanding gap behind Asian and European competitors in car resale value, an important gauge for consumers.
Kelley Blue Book and Automotive Leasing Guide, leading vehicle-appraisal companies, plan to announce Wednesday their annual ranking of the top brands for projected resale value for the 2010 model year. Brands made by foreign manufacturers, including Toyota Motor Corp., Honda Motor Co. and BMW AG, continued to lead the pack, but these companies' scores slipped from a year earlier. By contrast, brands from Ford Motor Co., General Motors Co. and Chrysler Group LLC gained in the rankings. Resale value is the amount of a vehicle's sticker price that is retained after three or more years on the road.
Behind the auto makers' change in fortunes this year are lower gasoline prices, which have retreated from 2008 highs of $4 a gallon. More affordable fuel has caused buyers to shy away from small cars—a strength of the foreign nameplates. Instead, demand is up, as are resale values, for larger models like trucks and sport-utility vehicles, the specialty of Detroit's Big Three.
Savvy car-buyers are often drawn to models with higher resale values because they expect to recoup more of the original price when the used vehicle is sold.
No comments:
Post a Comment