A vehicle’s residual value is the amount the vehicle is predicted to be worth in the future. It directly impacts a consumer’s auto lease payment. The higher a vehicle’s residual value is, the less money you pay to lease the vehicle.
ALG, a company that provides automotive residual values and data, has given its top awards to Subaru and Infiniti this year. This means that Subaru and Infiniti vehicles have the highest three-year residual values among all automotive brands.
The top three mainstream brands for 2011 are (in order) Subaru, Honda and Mazda. The top three luxury brands are (in order) Infiniti, Acura and Lexus. If you plan on leasing a vehicle in the next few months, you may want to consider one of these brands, which may have lower lease payments than their competitors.
2011 Subaru Legacy
ALG said that Subaru won the Residual Value Award this year because of its successful product offerings and strong brand value. The Subaru Legacy, Forester and Outback all were first place in their segments. The Subaru Impreza and Impreza WRX/STI were runners-up in the Compact and Sporty segments, respectively.
Second-place Honda’s Fit and Odyssey won ALG’s Residual Value Award in their segments. Mazda, who took third place overall, won the Full-size Utility segment with its CX-9, while the Mazda3 was second place for Compact and the Mazda6 was second for the Mid-size segment.
ALG says that Kia was the most improved mainstream brand for 2011 due to its new products like the Optima, Sportage and Sorento. Kia also improved in quality ratings and its sales strategy, which helps increase consumer confidence in the brand for future improvements to brand value.
Among luxury automotive brands, Infiniti took first place because of new competitive product offerings like the G25 and newly redesigned M and QX56, ALG says. The QX56 won for the Luxury Full-size Utility segment, while the G Series was second place in the Near Luxury segment.
Acura was second place overall, with its TL winning the award for the Near Luxury segment. Lexus took third place this year, with its LS 460 winning in the Luxury segment.
2011 Infiniti QX56
