The cars and SUVs with the best resale value in Australia

A new report has detailed the cars and SUVs that hold their value the best, as well as how long on average they sit on dealer lots.

13 Dec 2023 at 10:00 am

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William Stopford

William Stopford

A new monthly report from the Australian Automotive Dealer Association (AADA) sheds light on not only which are Australia’s top-selling used cars, but also which ones hold their value the best.

The Automotive Insights Report (AIR) details the top 10 cars and SUVs with the best retained value, as well as how long they sit on dealer lots.

The AADA publishes data for both vehicles 2-4 years old, and vehicles 5-7 years old.

It notes retained values are gradually declining after the record highs of recent years, however there are still some vehicles exceeding their new market value.

The vehicles with the highest retained value aren’t necessarily the ones flying off dealer lots the quickest.

The 5-7 year old passenger car category, for example, is topped by the HSV Clubsport which retains a whopping 120.2 per cent of its value on average. But it takes an average of 118.9 days to sell, more than any other vehicle in the top 10 list.

In contrast, 5-7 year old examples of the Honda City retain a still impressive 89.2 per cent of their value on average, but take an average of just 15.1 days to sell.

The average time to sell a used car is 52 days, the highest it has been over the past 12 months.

The passenger car lists are dominated by light cars like the Toyota Yaris and Mazda 2, but larger fare like the Ford Falcon and Mustang also feature.

In terms of SUVs, it’s a mix of both rugged, body-on-frame fare and small crossovers.

The AADA and AutoGrab use the following definitions:

For Sale: Level of available used and demo cars listed online by dealers and private sellers nationally at the time of reporting. AutoGrab processes and de-duplicates listings to identify and eliminate repetitions, ensuring that vehicles listed across multiple platforms are counted only once.
Sales: Total vehicles delisted from online marketplaces, serving as a close proxy to actual sales and recorded monthly.
Days to Sell: Measures the duration (in days) between when a vehicle was first listed online to when it was delisted.

Naturally, retained value is defined as how well a vehicle holds its value against its recommended retail price (RRP) when new.

“This figure is reported as a weighted average by vehicle segment and age group at each reporting period and provides a stable pricing trend movement,” the report reads.

Top 10 passenger cars (2-4 years old)

Model	Average retained value (per cent)	Average days to sell
1. Toyota Yaris	110.3 per cent	36.4
2. Honda Jazz	104.6 per cent	46.1
3. Kia Picanto	103.0 per cent	26.7
4. Toyota 86	101.4 per cent	35.5
5. Toyota Corolla	99.5 per cent	46.5
6. Toyota Camry	97.8 per cent	47.0
7. Subaru WRX	97.5 per cent	102.5
8. Mazda 2	95.8 per cent	49.7
9. Kia Rio	95.7 per cent	56.2
10. Suzuki Baleno	95.6 per cent	28.2

Top 10 SUVs (2-4 years old)

Model	Average retained value (per cent)	Average days to sell
1. Suzuki Jimny	136.1 per cent	42.3
2. Toyota Yaris Cross	116.1 per cent	64.2
3. Toyota LandCruiser	106.3 per cent	55.1
4. Nissan Patrol	104.5 per cent	35.1
5. Toyota RAV4	103.2 per cent	50.5
6. Toyota Fortuner	97.9 per cent	46.6
7. Toyota C-HR	96.3 per cent	46.9
8. Jeep Wrangler	95.7 per cent	61.5
9. Toyota LandCruiser Prado	93.3 per cent	51.6
10. Hyundai Venue	92.6 per cent	43.3

Top 10 passenger cars (5-7 years old)

Model	Average retained value (per cent)	Average days to sell
1. HSV Clubsport	120.2 per cent	118.9
2. Mitsubishi Mirage	117.2 per cent	47.5
3. Toyota Yaris	96.2 per cent	29.1
4. Kia Picanto	90.1 per cent	34.6
5. Honda City	89.2 per cent	15.1
6. Toyota 86	87.1 per cent	54.6
7. Mazda 2	86.9 per cent	33.3
8. Ford Falcon	86.7 per cent	80.4
9. Ford Mustang	85.2 per cent	54.9
10. Honda Civic	83.8 per cent	41.4

Top 10 SUVs (5-7 years old)

Model	Average retained value (per cent)	Average days to sell
1. Toyota LandCruiser	93.9 per cent	57.5
2. Suzuki Ignis	91.98 per cent	46.1
3. Jeep Wrangler	86.6 per cent	77.9
4. MG ZS	85.1 per cent	43.4
5. Nissan Patrol	83.8 per cent	54.8
6. Hyundai Kona	81.4 per cent	47.5
7. Toyota Fortuner	80.9 per cent	59.1
8. Mazda CX-3	79.3 per cent	38.4
9. Honda HR-V	77.9 per cent	43.0
10. Toyota LandCruiser Prado	77.8 per cent	56.8

William Stopford

News Editor

William Stopford

News Editor

William Stopford is an automotive journalist based in Brisbane, Australia. William is a Business/Journalism graduate from the Queensland University of Technology who loves to travel, briefly lived in the US, and has a particular interest in the American car industry.