Automotive Lease Guide (ALG) has announced its 10th annual Residual Value Awards, honoring the vehicles in each segment that are predicted to retain the highest percentage of their original price after a conventional three-year lease term.

The awards are based on 2009 model year vehicles. For the seventh year, ALG has also included awards for the brands that have the highest overall predicted resale values among all industry and all luxury vehicles. The awards are derived after carefully studying segment competition, historical vehicle performance and industry trends. The list of winners can be found on www.alg.com.

For the sixth consecutive year, American Honda Motor Company, Inc. has won the Industry Brand Residual Value Award. Honda also received individual segment awards for the Accord in the Midsize Car category, and the Honda Fit in the Compact Car category.

In addition, Acura, Honda’s luxury division, has won the overall Luxury Brand Residual Value Award for the first time. Although Acura does not have any segment winners, all of its vehicles’ residual values are relatively strong, with the new TL and TSX ranking among the highest in their segments.

Toyota Motor Sales, USA again received the most segment Residual Value Awards. The Toyota brand received four awards, for the Sequoia (Large Utility Vehicle); the Tacoma (Compact/Midsize Pickup); the Sienna (Minivan); and the Prius (Hybrid/Alternative Powertrain – in the first year for that category). In addition, Toyota’s Lexus LS460 received the Luxury Car award, while the Scion XB won in the Mid-Compact Car category.

Nissan received three segment awards, for the Maxima (Fullsize Car); the GT-R (Luxury Sports Car); and the Murano (Midsize Utility Vehicle). BMW won two awards, for the Mini Cooper (Sporty Car) and the BMW 1 Series (Near Luxury Car). Land Rover also received two segment awards, for the Range Rover Sport (Luxury Utility Vehicle) and the LR2 (Near Luxury Utility Vehicle).

Among domestic manufacturers, the Jeep Wrangler won the segment award for Compact Utility Vehicles for the third consecutive year, although it is sharing the award this year with the Subaru Forester, a first time winner. The Ford F-150 received the award for Fullsize Light Duty Pickups, while the Dodge Sprinter won in the Commercial – Specialty segment, a new category this year.

“In these unprecedented times – between volatile gas prices and the turmoil in the credit and financial markets – consistently achieving strong Residual Values has become a monumental challenge for auto manufacturers,” said John Blair, Chief Executive Officer of Automotive Lease Guide. “While a number of companies again performed well, Honda clearly set itself apart this year by winning both the overall Industry and the Luxury Brand Awards, as its Acura division jumped to the top spot from fourth place a year ago. The Honda and Acura brands both benefit from an extremely disciplined approach to vehicle production, combined with consistent high quality and effective pricing strategies. Residual Value remains the best metric for evaluating the overall strength of an automotive brand, and we congratulate all of this year’s winners for their successful products and marketing strategies.”

J.D. Power announced its 2022 U.S. ALG Residual Value awards Thursday, with Honda and Hyundai topping the charts at three models apiece in the industry-standard study. The term "residual" is an industry projection of how well a car will hold its resale value three years from the original purchase date – a key metric in calculating lease costs and projecting new-car depreciation.

Award winners included several enthusiast-friendly options, including the BMW 2 Series, Dodge Charger, Subaru WRX, Mercedes-AMG GT and Toyota Tacoma. Even the Ford Bronco was recognized, beating out the Jeep Wrangler in the Off-Road Utility segment. That may seem odd given the car's issue-plagued launch, but scarcity apparently trumps quality control issues over the longer term. Here's a scrolling complete list of winners broken down by segment:
“Accurately forecasting residual values in the auto industry is a key factor in assessing an estimated $225 billion lease portfolio of vehicles in the United States,” said ALG VP Eric Lyman in the company's announcement. "The brands and vehicle models that rise to the top demonstrate that they score well across the award program’s criteria, including manufacturers’ superior design and quality."

ALG looks at several factors to determine future value, which is especially tricky with new models. For 2022, 16 different brands were recognized across 29 segments. Behind Honda and Hyundai, Audi, Kia, Mercedes-Benz, Land Rover and Subaru all managed to chart with two different models. Here's the rundown of those who won in more than one category:

• Honda Civic
• Honda Passport
• Honda Odyssey
• Hyundai Accent
• Hyundai Kona
• Hyundai Kona EV
• Audi A6 Allroad
• Audi Q3
• Kia K5
• Kia Telluride
• Land Rover Range Rover Velar
• Land Rover Discovery
• Mercedes-AMG GT 4-Door
• Mercedes-Benz Metris:
• Subaru WRX and
• Subaru Forester
• Toyota Tacoma
• Toyota Tundra

"The award process consists of evaluating 284 models through analysis of used-vehicle performance, brand outlook and product competitiveness," the announcement said. "Eligibility for a brand award requires a manufacturer to have model entries in at least four different segments. To account for differences across trim levels, model averages are weighted based on percentage share relative to the entire model line."

The troubled Chevy Bolt has won a surprising award from J.D. Power’s ALG for having the best residual value in the Canadian mass-market electric vehicle segment. The 2022 Canadian awards were dominated by Toyota and GM models, which snatched the most segment wins. The Bolt’s achievement is no small feat considering ALG analyzed 274 different vehicle model lines.
9 photos

GM secured five J.D. Power Canada ALG Residual Value Awards, with the Chevrolet Silverado 2500 HD, Chevrolet Corvette, and the Chevrolet Bolt, as well as the GMC Yukon and GMC Savana, each winning their corresponding segment’s title.

On the other hand, Toyota managed to get seven wins with the Camry, RAV4, Highlander, 4Runner, Tundra, Tacoma, and the Sienna while also scoring in the premium segment with the Lexus IS, GX, and UX. This allowed Toyota to win the overall mass market award, with Lexus the winner in the premium segment. GM also had one win in the premium segment with the Cadillac Escalade.

ALG awarded a total of 16 different brands across 29 vehicle segments, after evaluating 274 different vehicle model lines. The tedious process involved analyzing many factors including used market performance, brand outlook, and overall product competitiveness. A manufacturer needs to have model entries in at least four different segments to be eligible.

Also, the J.D. Power Canada ALG Residual Value Awards takes into account how well vehicles hold their value after four years for mass-market vehicles, and after three years for premium vehicles. This restricted the pool size, basically eliminating Tesla from the contest, along with the newer contenders in the EV segment, like Hyundai-Kia and Volkswagen

This also explains how the Chevy Bolt won the mass-market EV award since it had little to no competition. Marred by fire scandals and banned from entering public parking lots and garages, the Bolt is still considered by the Canadians the best EV overall when it comes to value retention among all the eligible manufacturers.

The lack of diversity in the 2022 edition of the ALG Canada Residual Value Awards was acknowledged by Eric Lyman, vice president of ALG. “There’s not much brand diversity in the winners for 2022, meaning that the few brands at the top have found their niche, especially Toyota with its continued dominance in the utility and pickup segments,” Lyman observed.

The only other electric vehicle to score a win in this year’s ALG Canada Residual Value Awards was the Porsche Taycan. It didn't manage to beat the Chevy Bolt overall, which is again surprising considering how well Porsche cars keep their value over time.