• by Tanya Gazdik , April 17, 2016

Toyota won the non-luxury brand-level award, while Acura won the non-luxury brand-level award in Edmunds.com's 2016 Best Retained Value Awards.

The awards recognize the 2016 model-year vehicles that have the highest projected residual values after five years. A total of 24 models won model-level awards. 

Toyota won more model-level categories than any other automaker with a total of five awards, followed by Honda, Lexus and Mercedes-Benz, with three each. Toyota stood out as the winning non-luxury brand for the second year in a row with a projected 53.8 average percent residual value after five years. Acura earned the luxury brand award for the fifth straight year with a projected residual value of 47.6%.

Car shoppers owe it to themselves to understand exactly how much they can expect their cars to depreciate over time, says Edmunds.com Consumer Advice Editor Carroll Lachnit. 

The awards recognize the brands and models that have the highest projected private party residual value five years after their launch based on their average “cash” True Market Value price during their first five months in the market (or, for vehicles introduced in November or December 2015, through March 2016), expressed as a percentage of their average True Market Value when purchased new, and assuming 15,000 miles driven per year.

A number of automakers who use Edmunds Best Retained Value Awards in their marketing and promotional materials, says Aaron Lewis, Edmunds.com's senior communications manager.  

“Resale value is an important consideration for car shoppers and it only helps marketers to highlight the vehicles that stand out in this category,” Lewis says. “And when there's an independent third party initiating those claims, the message is even stronger.”

Even consumers who lease vehicle instead of buying should be concerned with retained value, he says. 

“After all, the car's residual value is perhaps the single biggest factor that dictates how much you pay over the life of your lease,” Lewis says. “If, for example, you've narrowed down your choice between two equally priced vehicles, the car with the higher projected retained value will most likely cost less to lease.”