Analysis of the UK’s 100 most in-demand new cars reveals typical depreciation of almost £16,000 in the first year.
Having examined the resale data for vehicles after their first 12 months of ownership, Leasing.com found the average car loses 26.7 percent of its value in depreciation.
Based on the cost of cars in the study, this means the average vehicle loses £43.17 in depreciation every single day, equating to £15,760 in a full year.
To ensure fairness, the research only took vehicles with a sufficient number of resale listings into account, and discounted any with extremely low mileages outside the UK average.
From this analysis, Leasing.com was able to find interesting patterns in depreciation, and identify the cars that bucked the trend.
Depreciation-busting new cars
Coming out on top, as the vehicle with the least amount of first-year depreciation, was the Land Rover Defender 90.
The fashionable SUV lost just 7.02 percent of its residual value during the initial 12 months, perhaps reflecting the desirable image of the Defender badge.
Taking second place on Leasing.com’s list was the Renault Symbioz E-Tech SUV, which combines hybrid power with relatively anodyne styling. It shed just 8.65 percent of its value during the first year of ownership, placing it just behind the Land Rover.
Third position was occupied by the BMW 1 Series, which sees 12.65 percent of its brand new value disappear in the year that follows.
Despite the increase in the market share for automatic transmissions, Leasing.com found these resulted in higher rates of depreciation. A manual car lost an average of £30.40 per day, compared with £47.51 for an automatic model.
However, cars with an automatic gearbox had a typical price of £41,510, against £28,087 for manual vehicles, making such losses relative.
An overlooked cost of motoring
Electrification is not necessarily a barrier to beating depreciation, with the plug-in hybrid BYD Seal U losing a relatively modest 15.1 percent of its value in year one.
The MG ZS Hybrid was just behind on 17.99 percent, while the Tesla Model 3 claimed third position with a loss of 22.13 percent.
This made the Tesla the best-performing EV, despite widespread concerns about Elon Musk’s leadership of the American marque.
Mike Fazal, CEO at Leasing.com, said: “Depreciation is one of the biggest costs of running a new car, yet many drivers overlook it because it doesn’t show up as a regular bill.
“Our analysis shows that thousands of pounds can be lost in value within the first year alone, even at average mileage. That’s why it’s so important to focus on the total cost of ownership, not just the upfront price or monthly payments”.
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