Other than the Dacia Spring, which starts cheap and ends up even cheaper after three years, with retained value of around 40% (how does six grand for a three-year old EV sound?), the Dacia range is pretty slow to shed its value.
Affordable cars tend not to drop too quickly, since their affordability is still a selling point as used cars, and higher demand tends to mean higher values. Since the entire Dacia range already costs thousands less than most things you’d consider rivals, it’s off to a good start. Best of the bunch is the 1.8-litre hybrid Bigster, which holds onto more than 66% three years down the line, and Dacia’s hybrids do pretty well in general.
The five fastest-depreciating brands
If the brands above are the class swots, then the five below are the ones forgetting to do their homework, being a nuisance in class, and staring aimlessly out of the window while the teacher tries to attract their attention.
In fairness, they’re also not the absolute worst depreciators on the new car market, but they’re the lowest among brands that sell proper cars – the likes of Micro (23.9% retained value), DoGood (26%) and Silence (31.4%) all focus on tiny low-speed urban vehicles that depreciate faster than a Cornetto on the Dakar rally.
5. Lotus
40.9% average retained value
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