Electric cars depreciate the fastest

Maserati Quattroporte owners lose the most money in 5 years

Everyone knows that a new car loses a significant amount of its value as soon as it leaves the showroom. How much of its cost does a model lose after five years of operation?

The portal iSeeCars offers the answer in its latest study for the American market, which includes cars up to five years old. Overseas, electric vehicles saw the biggest drop in value, averaging 49.1% over five years. Hybrids and pickups hold the price best.

However, all cars lose less of their value in 2023 compared to 2019 as a result of the reduced production of new cars during the coronavirus pandemic and the limited supply of used vehicles at the moment.

Before the pandemic, the average car lost about 50 percent of its value

for five years. Now, the average 5-year depreciation is 38.8 percent, with EVs the worst group, losing roughly half their value.

iSeeCars experts analyzed over 1.1 million cars sold from November 2022 to October 2023 to determine 5-year depreciation rates.

“The good news for car owners is that all used cars are holding their value better than they did five years ago,” said Carl Brauer, executive analyst at iSeeCars. “But not all used cars hold the same value, with pickups and hybrids among the best segments and electric vehicles the worst. Hybrids have a nearly 12 percentage point advantage over EVs in retained value, which means thousands of dollars in higher market value after five years.”

While the average 5-year depreciation for all vehicles is 38.8 percent, electrics are more than 10 percentage points worse at 49.1 percent. SUVs also lost more value than averages, at 41.2 percent.

The American and European markets have one thing in common and that is that

Italian cars are the worst at price retention

They look great, drive great, but still, the price is not their strong point. In Europe, for example, these are the Fiat and Alfa Romeo brands, while in the US the leader in depreciation is Maserati.

Maserati in America is listed very poorly as a used car. Its price drops at a rapid rate, with the Quattroporte sedan losing as much as 64.5% of its value after five years, meaning the buyer will lose over $90,000. The Maserati Ghibli is also at the top, and the Maserati Levante SUV is in eighth place.

Between them are the BMW 7 Series, 5 Series and even the X5 SUV. Jaguar XF and Audi A7 have also seen significant price drops. The bottom line is that buying a premium car also means the biggest loss of vehicle value over time. Of course, with some exceptions.

One of them is Porsche, whose 911 coupe regularly wins customer satisfaction tests, but also in terms of quality, it ranks very well when it comes to keeping the price. After five years, this Porsche will have lost only 9.3% of its original cost, or only about $18,100. Twice as bad, but still excellent, is the 718 model with a loss of 17.6 percent.

Only non-premium brands follow, and Toyota is among the best with three models in the top 10.

Higher new and used car prices will remain

Until the limited production of new cars from the 2020 to 2022 model years fully moves through the used car market, there will be a lack of vehicles to meet demand. That means better residual value for car owners, but also higher prices for buyers for the foreseeable future, the study’s authors believe.