Soaring U.S. Demand for Canadian Trucks and SUVs Results in Record Values
in Canadian Black Book Retained Value Awards

Toronto, February 10, 2016 - Canadian car and truck owners stand to benefit from a lower Canadian dollar, which is triggering record values for many used vehicles, as is evidenced in the results of this year’s Canadian Black Book ‘Best Retained Value Awards’.

The annual accolades, released on the eve of the Canadian International Auto Show, recognize four-year-old (2012) models that retain their percentage of MSRP the best, across 20 categories.

Driven by its relatively stronger economy, coupled with decreasing fuel costs, U.S. demand is growing for Canadian trucks and SUVs, exacerbated by the dropping Canadian dollar. Year-over-year, these economic factors have contributed to an overall 6.3 percentage point decrease in depreciation among the 11 trucks, SUVs and vans that won or placed in this year’s Canadian Black Book awards.

The Jeep Wrangler secured a staggering 79 per cent of its original MSRP, 10 percentage points higher than last year and the highest ever recorded retained value in the history of the awards.

“American dealers have found new demand in the U.S. and more buying power in Canada, creating a desirable sellers’ market here,” says Brad Rome, President, Canadian Black Book. “With a low dollar and sluggish Canadian economy largely due to poor oil prices, it can be hard to find positives anywhere. But I can say that for several segments the used vehicle business is healthier now than it was a year ago. It’s smart to take the time to get educated on values,” he adds.

Depreciation is the single largest expense of owning a vehicle. Understanding a vehicle’s retained value is helpful for anyone researching a potential change. “By publishing which vehicles hold their value best, these awards show Canadians what models can help save them money when it is time to trade up,” says Josh Bailey, Vice President, Research & Editorial, Canadian Black Book.

CanadianBlackBook.com maintains a database of car and truck values dating back to 2002. The website offers three free values calculators - one that allows consumers to look up trade-in values before they head to the dealer, another that shows future values, and a third that shows average asking price.

In a major 2016 ‘Retained Value Awards’ milestone, Fiat Chrysler won the ‘Full-size Car’ class, the first victory ever by any domestic model in the four mainstream car categories. To top it off, the Dodge Challenger won ‘Sports Car’ for the fifth year running. “Fiat Chrysler’s increased success in these awards is evidence of stronger North American brands, something we’ve been predicting for the last few years,” says Bailey.

Toyota, for the ninth consecutive year, still comes away as the winningest brand for 2016, with six first place finishes. Toyota continues to dominate the truck space with the Tacoma and Tundra each winning for the seventh straight year.

The ‘Mid-size SUV’ category saw the highest ‘Best Retained Value’ of all categories at 71 per cent, with the Toyota FJ Cruiser, Toyota 4Runner and Toyota Highlander placing first, second and third, respectively.

Record high retained values can be attributed in part to the 200,000 used vehicles imported into the U.S. in 2015, the hottest commodities of which were trucks and SUVs, according to leading automotive analyst Dennis DesRosiers.

For the second straight year, alternate fuel vehicles placed in two categories and this year both vehicles are Toyota plug-ins. The Prius v won in ‘Compact Car’, and Prius c took second place in ‘Sub-compact Car’. The Camry upset long-time winner, the Subaru Outback, with its ‘Mid-size Car’ victory.

Honda also fared well, as the Fit won ‘Sub-compact Car’ for the fourth consecutive year, and the Odyssey won first in the ‘Minivan’ segment for the sixth time in seven years.

Rounding out the long-standing Japanese domination of these awards, the Nissan NV Van defeated the perennial champ Mercedes-Benz Sprinter in the ‘Full-sized Van’ class. Altogether, Japanese manufacturers saw an impressive 27 first, second and third place finishes, close to half of the possible placings.

Canadians thinking of buying, leasing, selling or trading up a vehicle, are encouraged to visit Canadianblackbook.com to look up the 2016 award winners and to take advantage of the free values calculators.

2016 Results

MODEL	1st	2nd	3rd
Sub-compact Car	Honda Fit	Toyota Prius c	Kia Soul
Compact Car	Toyota Prius v	Subaru Impreza	Mitsubishi Lancer
Mid-size Car	Toyota Camry	Honda Accord	Subaru Outback
Full-size Car	Dodge Charger	Toyota Avalon	Chrysler 300
Entry Luxury Car	Volvo XC70	Lexus IS Series	Lexus CT200h
Luxury Car	Audi A7	Audi A5	Audi A6
Premium Luxury Car	Porsche Panamera	Lexus LS Series	Mercedes-Benz CLS-Class
Premium Sports Car	Porsche Cayman	Porsche Boxster	Audi R8
Sports Car	Dodge Challenger	Audi TT	Ford Mustang
Small Pickup	Toyota Tacoma	Honda Ridgeline	Nissan Frontier
Full-size Pickup	Toyota Tundra	Ford F Series	GMC Sierra HD
Minivan	Honda Odyssey	Toyota Sienna	Nissan Quest
Full-size Van	Nissan NV Van	Mercedes-Benz Sprinter	GMC Savana
Compact Commercial Van	Ford Transit Connect	Dodge Ram Cargo Van
Compact SUV	Jeep Wrangler	Honda CR-V	Jeep Compass
Mid-size SUV	Toyota FJ Cruiser	Toyota 4Runner	Toyota Highlander
Full-size SUV	Toyota Sequoia	Dodge Durango	Ford Expedition
Compact Luxury SUV	Audi Q5	Land Rover Range Rover Evoque	Volvo XC60
Mid-size Luxury SUV	Porsche Cayenne	Lexus RX Series	Lexus GX Series
Full-size Luxury SUV	Audi Q7	Land Rover Range Rover	Mercedes-Benz GL-Class

Media Contact: Conrad Galambos, cgalambos@sympatico.ca, (905) 979-7039

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