ALG Announces Winners of Third Annual Canadian Residual Value Awards

TORONTO, Feb. 17, 2011 -- ALG, a subsidiary of DealerTrack Holdings, Inc. and the industry benchmark for residual values and depreciation data, today announced the winners of its third annual Canadian Residual Value Awards, with Subaru and Infiniti taking the awards for top mainstream and luxury brands, respectively.

ALG's Residual Value Awards honor the vehicles in each segment that are predicted to retain the highest percentage of their original price. This year's Canadian awards are based on 2011 model year vehicles, and winners were chosen after a careful evaluation of vehicle criteria, including segment competition, historical vehicle performance and industry trends. The complete list of winners can be found at Residual Value Awards

"A key indicator of a brand's health and a significant contributor to driving increased profitability for a brand is high residual value," said Raj Sundaram, senior vice president, Solutions Group and ALG. "Our overall winners and market segment honorees are perfect examples of brands that are committed to delivering real value to dealers and customers."

Subaru Canada, Inc. won the Mainstream Brand Residual Value Award for the second straight year. Four Subaru models also received individual segment awards: the Legacy (in the Midsize Car category), the Impreza (in the Compact category), the Impreza WRX/STI (in the Sporty category) and the Outback (in the Midsize Utility Vehicle category).

"Subaru continues to grow its sales and market share in Canada, with its lineup of reliable all-wheel drive vehicles," said Sundaram. "Subaru's brand loyalty has been on the rise, and the company has been careful to match is supply with consumer demand, keeping its forecast retention above that of other mainstream brands."

Infiniti, the luxury division of Nissan Canada, Inc., captured top honors among luxury brands for the third year in a row. The Infiniti QX56 SUV also won the Luxury Fullsize Utility category.

"Infiniti's top ranking among luxury brands category is a testament to the significant appeal and strong value of its models," Sundaram said. "Infiniti has become known for meeting high ideals in both performance and luxury, and it offers buyers an excellent alternative to the traditional European luxury brands."

Honda's Acura division was the runner-up among luxury brands, and the RDX took home top honors in the Luxury Compact Utility category. Honda also was the segment winner in two mainstream categories, for the Fit (Sub Compact Car) and the Odyssey (MPV).

BMW received awards for its BMW 1 Series (Near Luxury), BMW 5 Series (Luxury), BMW 335d (Luxury Alt-Fuel) and BMW X5 (Luxury Midsize Utility). Toyota received honors for the Toyota Avalon (Fullsize), Toyota Tacoma (Midsize Pickup) and Toyota Tundra (Fullsize Pickup).

The remaining segment winners were the Volkswagen Jetta TDI (Alt-Fuel), the Mazda CX-9 (Midsize Utility) and Nissan for its Rogue (Compact Utility) and GT-R (Luxury Sportscar).