Land Rover, Toyota Capture Top Overall Brand Honors in ALG's 15th Annual Residual Value Awards

SANTA BARBARA, Calif., Nov. 17, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- ALG, the benchmark for forecasting future vehicle values and the analytics division of TrueCar, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE), announced winners of its 15^th annual Residual Value Awards, with Land Rover and Toyota taking top honors for Premium Brand and Mainstream Brand, respectively.

ALG's Residual Value Awards (RVA) recognize vehicles in 26 segments – including midsize and full-size commercial vans for the first time – that are forecast to retain the highest percentage of their Manufacturer's Suggested Retail Price (MSRP) after a three-year period. This year's recipients were chosen from 2015 model year vehicles on sale that have shown strong value in their competitive segments.  The awards will be presented to automakers this week at the Los Angeles Auto Show.

"Residual value is important for automakers and consumers because it's a complete indicator of the vehicle's future value, accounting for quality, durability and brand desirability among other factors," said Larry Dominique, president of ALG and executive vice president of TrueCar.  "The award recipients demonstrate strong forecasted returns on investments for their owners."

Land Rover's overall win among Premium manufacturers is its first, and comes as a result of having consistently delivered a stream of hot, new vehicles for which customer demand far outweighs supply.

"With some models like the Range Rover Sport, we're seeing vehicles on the dealer lot for just 13 days on average – far below the industry's 65-day average," said Dominique. "Some Land Rover models are in such high demand that they're selling above MSRP – a remarkable achievement that's only possible with manufacturer restraint and a tightly controlled supply chain."

Among Mainstream brands, Toyota captured five segment awards. Some of its highlights include the Toyota Prius v wagon overtaking last year's winner, the Prius c subcompact car, in the alternative-fuel category; the Toyota Tacoma pickup truck winning a 14^th straight RVA; and the Toyota Tundra winning its fourth consecutive RVA. Toyota's premium products also took home three RVAs – the Lexus IS, Lexus GX and Toyota Land Cruiser.

"Even in a robust automotive industry, where competition is fierce, we've seen automakers keep incentive spending down, which helps maintain high residual values," said Dominique. "That benefits consumers and businesses, helping their vehicles retain strong values and leading to lower overall costs of ownership."

Noteworthy in this year's RVA winners are the Subaru Outback and Mini Hardtop, which have won in the past but re-enter as segment champs after being completely redesigned for 2014 and 2015.

Additionally, eight vehicles earned RVAs for the first time, including:

• Dodge Charger (Fullsize Car)
• Subaru WRX (Sports Car)
• Toyota Prius v (Alt-Fuel Vehicle)
• Chevrolet Tahoe (Fullsize Utility Vehicle)
• Ford Transit Connect (Midsize Commercial Van)
• Hyundai Genesis (Premium Fullsize Car)
• Audi TT (Premium Sports Car)
• Porsche Macan (Premium Compact Utility Vehicle)

"It is great to see such a diverse mix of brands winning this year," Dominique noted. "It shows the industry as a whole continues to improve residual values, benefitting consumers and automakers alike."

Below is the full list of 2015 ALG RVA winners:

About ALG
Founded in 1964 and headquartered in Santa Barbara, California, with an office in Toronto, Ontario, ALG is an authority on automotive residual value projections in North America. By analyzing nearly 2,500 vehicle trims each year to assess residual value – which is mainly driven by used car inventory, brand strength, macroeconomic conditions, incentive spending and pricing – ALG provides auto industry and financial services clients with resale insights, forecasts and consulting services about the future vehicle marketplace. ALG, owned by TrueCar, Inc., the negotiation-free car buying and selling platform, has been publishing residual values for all cars, trucks and SUVs in the U.S. for 50 years and in Canada since 1981.  For more information, visit www.alg.com.

About TrueCar 
TrueCar, Inc. (NASDAQ: TRUE) is the negotiation-free car buying and selling platform. TrueCar enables a negotiation-free car buying experience by giving buyers transparent insight into what others actually paid (price confidence), upfront pricing information (price discovery), and access to a network of trusted TrueCar Certified Dealers who provide guaranteed savings certificates and seamlessly complete the car purchase. The reality is that buying a car is painful and buyers fear they are going to overpay or be surprised with hidden fees. TrueCar's transparent upfront pricing information makes the car buying process simple so there are no surprises and buyers never overpay. TrueCar's mission is to make car buying simple, fair and fun. Its national network of more than 9,000 TrueCar Certified Dealers, including both new car franchise dealers and non-franchise dealers, is committed to providing negotiation-free savings off MSRP and upfront pricing information for all car-buyers, including members of some of the country's largest membership and service organizations such as AARP, American Express, AAA, and USAA. Note: Not all program features are available in all states. Go to www.truecar.com for program details. TrueCar is headquartered in Santa Monica, Calif., with offices in Santa Barbara, Calif., San Francisco, Calif., and Austin, Texas.

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SOURCE ALG

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