NEW YORK (CNN/Money) -
Mercedes Benz is losing its first place ranking as the car model retaining the greatest percentage of its value over time, according to the firm which tracks that data for the industry.
The 2004 models of the German-made luxury car brand are expected to retain 52 percent of their value after a three-year lease, according to Automotive Lease Guide, the firm whose data is used by lenders and automakers. That's down from an expected retained value of 54.5 percent a year ago. That 52 percent value retention gives Mercedes a sixth-place ranking among brands overall.
Moving into first place in the rankings is rival German automaker BMW, which is now expected to retain 54.5 percent after three years, up from 52.8 percent a year ago. Next on the list is the best ranking for a non-luxury brand, Honda, which is expected to retain 53.7 percent after three years, up from 49.7 percent a year ago.
The brand with the lowest anticipated retained value is Oldsmobile, which General Motors has already announced it plans to discontinue with this model year. The 2004 Olds are expected to retain only 31.9 percent of their value, down slightly from the 32.1 percent figure from a year earlier. Korean automaker Kia moved out of last place by having its anticipated retained value rise to 35.1 percent from 31.9 percent a year ago.
The retained value estimates try to gauge how much the vehicle will fetch at auction when it comes off a lease compared to its original sticker price. While that figure has a signficant impact on the retail price for the used vehicle, buyers are likely to find prices about 10 percent higher when shopping for a used vehicle from a dealer.
The single vehicle that has the best estimated retained value is BMW's Cooper Mini, which is expected to hold 62 percent of its value after three years. The 2004 vehicle expected to hold onto the the lowest percentage of its value is the Kia Rio, expected to be worth only 27 percent of today's price in three years.
A spokeswoman for Mercedes, a unit of DaimlerChrysler AG (DCX: Research, Estimates), said the company is not overly concerned with losing the top ranking. Donna Boland said Mercedes own estimates show somewhat better retained valued for its leased vehicles, and that its sales of used Mercedes is up 20 percent from a year ago.
"Our residuals are still among the highest in industry and business is better than it's ever been," said Boland.
ALG President Raj Sundaram said that the relative age of the Mercedes line up of 2004 models, coupled with recently declining sales numbers of older model Mercedes, is what led to the German automaker's decline in the rankings. He agreed with Boland's comment about Mercedes' relative strength.
"This residual that Mercedes has, a lot of other brands would love to have it," Sundaram said.
The strong resale data for BMW's and Hondas coming off lease, coupled with new product offerings from those automakers, helped lift those models to the top spots among luxury and non-luxury models.
Honda has been able to show strong results across a range of products, Sundaram said, having the best retained value for four classes of vehicles -- midsize sedans, minivans, compact sport/utility vehicles and crossover vehicles.
Imports dominated the top performers on the list. DaimlerChrysler's Jeep, which is expected to retain 44.2 percent of its value, and Ford, which is expected to retain 42.1 percent of its value, are the only brands from the traditional Big Three topping the industry average for its class.
Overall non-luxury brands are expected to retain 42 percent of value after three years, up slightly from 41.8 percent average a year ago, while luxury brands are expected to hold onto 49 percent of value, up from 48.7 percent a year earlier.
General Motor Corp.'s (GM: Research, Estimates) Cadillac showed almost the best improvement of any brand. It is now expected to retain 45.6 percent of its value after three years, which while trailing the luxury brand average, is up from its 40.7 percent retained value a year ago. The only brand to show better improvement was Nissan's Infiniti brand, which jumped to 51.1 percent retained value expected for its 2004 models, compared to only 45.1 percent a year ago.
Sundaram said that while the Big Three trail the imports in retained value, the success of Cadillac and Ford, the latter having a new F-150 pickup truck and a new minivan to lift its numbers this year, gives some hope for Detroit. "The domestics are about to launch a ton of new vehicles in the next couple of years," he said. "This is their opportunity to try to bridge this gap."
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