Lease guide forecasts high residual value for Pontiac Solstice
ARLENA SAWYERS | Automotive News
Posted Date: 12/16/05
The Pontiac Solstice will keep its value better than any other new 2006 domestic-brand vehicle, Automotive Lease Guide predicts.
The guide, which sets residual value standards for the industry, predicts the Solstice will hold 54.0 percent of its sticker price after three years. The roadster has a base price of $19,995, including shipping.
Among domestic vehicles, the Solstice is second only to the 2006 Dodge Viper. The guide projects the Viper to retain 60.0 percent of its sticker price after three years.
A residual value of more than 50 percent is considered outstanding.
The guide predicts that two other new 2006 cars - the Ford Fusion and Dodge Charger - both will hold 45.6 percent of their resale value after three years.
A residual value is a projection of a vehicle's worth at the end of a lease, typically three years. It is expressed as a percentage of sticker price.
Residual values help determine monthly payments for new-vehicle leases. Higher values allow lower payments. They also can improve perceptions of a vehicle or brand.
Another closely watched vehicle, the redesigned 2006 Honda Civic, has a resale value of 53.0 percent after three years, the guide predicts.
'Curb appeal'
Raj Sundaram, president of Automotive Lease Guide in Santa Barbara, Calif., calls the Solstice "well packaged and well priced."
"It's got curb appeal," Sundaram told Automotive News. "The best thing is its reasonable volume target."
General Motors spokesman Jim Hopson says Pontiac expects to sell about 16,000 Solstices in the 2006 model year. It has the capacity to take annual Solstice sales to about 20,000 units, Hopson adds.
The guide is scheduled to release its annual residual value rankings by brand on Wednesday, Dec. 14. It predicts that 2006 vehicles from nonluxury brands will retain an average of 44.5 percent of sticker price after three years. That's 2.0 percentage points more than the guide's 2005 prediction. It's 2.5 points more than the 2004 prediction.
Honda and Toyota retain their guide rankings as the top nonluxury brands. The guide projects Honda's residual value at 53.0 percent, unchanged from the 2005 prediction. Toyota's brand residual projection is 51.8 percent, one percentage point below its 2005 projection.
As a brand, Pontiac is expected to hold 42.1 percent of its sticker price after three years, up from a projection of 36.9 percent for 2005 models. Hopson attributes that improvement in part to Pontiac's strategy of curbing fleet sales.
Buick at bottom
Buick is at the bottom of the brand rankings. Its projected residual value for its 2006 vehicles is 37.9 percent.
Still, that's up from 35.5 percent for Buick's 2005 models. GM's Hopson says new vehicles such as the Lucerne sedan should enable Buick to boost its residual values further in the next 12 to 18 months.
Automotive Lease Guide predicts that 2006 luxury-brand vehicles, on average, will retain 49.4 percent of their sticker price after three years. That is 0.5 percentage points below the guide's prediction for 2005 luxury brands and 0.4 points above the 2004 prediction.
Among luxury brands, Land Rover shows considerable improvement. Its 2006 residual projection is 51.2 percent, up from a projection of 49.6 percent for its 2005 models.
The Chrysler group would like a higher residual value for the Dodge Charger, spokesman Kevin McCormick says. But he notes that the value the guide assigns the Charger is higher than those given previous Dodge sedans.
"We've made some dramatic improvements," McCormick says. "The whole LX platform has done a good job in the residual-value market."
ARLENA SAWYERS | Automotive News
Posted Date: 12/16/05
The Pontiac Solstice will keep its value better than any other new 2006 domestic-brand vehicle, Automotive Lease Guide predicts.
The guide, which sets residual value standards for the industry, predicts the Solstice will hold 54.0 percent of its sticker price after three years. The roadster has a base price of $19,995, including shipping.
Among domestic vehicles, the Solstice is second only to the 2006 Dodge Viper. The guide projects the Viper to retain 60.0 percent of its sticker price after three years.
A residual value of more than 50 percent is considered outstanding.
The guide predicts that two other new 2006 cars - the Ford Fusion and Dodge Charger - both will hold 45.6 percent of their resale value after three years.
A residual value is a projection of a vehicle's worth at the end of a lease, typically three years. It is expressed as a percentage of sticker price.
Residual values help determine monthly payments for new-vehicle leases. Higher values allow lower payments. They also can improve perceptions of a vehicle or brand.
Another closely watched vehicle, the redesigned 2006 Honda Civic, has a resale value of 53.0 percent after three years, the guide predicts.
'Curb appeal'
Raj Sundaram, president of Automotive Lease Guide in Santa Barbara, Calif., calls the Solstice "well packaged and well priced."
"It's got curb appeal," Sundaram told Automotive News. "The best thing is its reasonable volume target."
General Motors spokesman Jim Hopson says Pontiac expects to sell about 16,000 Solstices in the 2006 model year. It has the capacity to take annual Solstice sales to about 20,000 units, Hopson adds.
The guide is scheduled to release its annual residual value rankings by brand on Wednesday, Dec. 14. It predicts that 2006 vehicles from nonluxury brands will retain an average of 44.5 percent of sticker price after three years. That's 2.0 percentage points more than the guide's 2005 prediction. It's 2.5 points more than the 2004 prediction.
Honda and Toyota retain their guide rankings as the top nonluxury brands. The guide projects Honda's residual value at 53.0 percent, unchanged from the 2005 prediction. Toyota's brand residual projection is 51.8 percent, one percentage point below its 2005 projection.
As a brand, Pontiac is expected to hold 42.1 percent of its sticker price after three years, up from a projection of 36.9 percent for 2005 models. Hopson attributes that improvement in part to Pontiac's strategy of curbing fleet sales.
Buick at bottom
Buick is at the bottom of the brand rankings. Its projected residual value for its 2006 vehicles is 37.9 percent.
Still, that's up from 35.5 percent for Buick's 2005 models. GM's Hopson says new vehicles such as the Lucerne sedan should enable Buick to boost its residual values further in the next 12 to 18 months.
Automotive Lease Guide predicts that 2006 luxury-brand vehicles, on average, will retain 49.4 percent of their sticker price after three years. That is 0.5 percentage points below the guide's prediction for 2005 luxury brands and 0.4 points above the 2004 prediction.
Among luxury brands, Land Rover shows considerable improvement. Its 2006 residual projection is 51.2 percent, up from a projection of 49.6 percent for its 2005 models.
The Chrysler group would like a higher residual value for the Dodge Charger, spokesman Kevin McCormick says. But he notes that the value the guide assigns the Charger is higher than those given previous Dodge sedans.
"We've made some dramatic improvements," McCormick says. "The whole LX platform has done a good job in the residual-value market."
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source:http://www.autoweek.com/news.cms?newsId=103782
