Hyundai Venue, Maruti Brezza lead compact SUVs in Autocar India, OLX Autos resale value study

The compact SUV segment is a densely populated and extremely competitive space.  Of late, it has seen many new entrants like the Kia Sonet, Toyota Urban Cruiser, Nissan Magnite and Renault Kiger. Since these SUVs have launched after 2019, they are not included in the study due to the relatively younger age and smaller sample size available in the used car market. To recall, the Autocar India OLX Autos used car study is based on actual transaction value and not on depreciation algorithms. The SUVs that fall under this study are the Honda WR-V, Ford Freestyle, Ford Ecosport, Tata Nexon, Mahindra XUV300, Hyundai Venue and the Maruti Vitara Brezza in its now discontinued diesel guise.

Honda WR-V

The hopped-up version of the Jazz hatchback initially caught the fancy of buyers thanks to Honda’s brand equity and also because it was the most affordable car in the market offering a factory-fitted sunroof. With new entrants also offering the same, along with more engine-transmission options, demand for the Honda WR-V fizzled out. This is reflected in the WR-V’s pre-owned prices, with depreciation being amongst the highest for both the petrol and diesel version.

Ford Freestyle

The crossover version of the Figo hatchback packs in Ford’s fun-to-drive DNA, however, crossover hatchbacks haven’t made an impact in our market. With a small number of units sold, there is very little data available for MY2019 petrol versions. Also, given the lacklustre demand in the new car segment, it’s no surprise to see the diesel version’s depreciation nose dive in the third year of ownership.

Ford Ecosport

Being the oldest in this segment, the Ecosport’s prices, as expected, fall the quickest in the pre-owned market. Also as expected of a car that has seen a facelift, the data reveals that, pre-facelift cars (MY2017 and before) witness a much higher drop in value, whereas MY2018 and onward cars – post facelift – see a depreciation value that is at par with the competition.

The resale price may come across as high, but this is because Ford added a lot of premium variants with the facelift. This resulted in a higher absolute value while retaining high depreciation percentage.

Mahindra XUV300

Mahindra’s XUV300 is one of the priciest compact SUVs in the new car market, but the response has been positive and that translates into a resale value that is at par with its competitors. The narrow price gap between petrol and diesel variants in the new car prices reveal a similar trend in the pre-owned market too.

Tata Nexon

The Nexon is known for its value proposition and has seen good demand in the new market. Its resale prices on the other hand are the lowest in its class. The petrol motor isn’t as nice as what rivals offer or even the Nexon’s diesel option. This bears out in the resale price too where the petrol-manual loses value faster than its diesel counterpart.

Look at the automatics, however, and it’s the other way around, where the petrol AMT holds better value than the diesel AMT. This is mainly because automatic buyers generally prefer a petrol powertrain. Customers for automatics are the ones with a high city running and thus with a lower overall mileage covered, it’s the petrol engines that are picked. This is because the lower efficiency isn’t a problem, and the purchase price of a petrol is also lower, to begin with.

Hyundai Venue

The newest car of this lot, Hyundai’s little SUV has established itself as one of the dominant players in its segment and the strong demand it sees in the new car market translates to a very good resale value. However, this low depreciation is also because it has seen gradual prices hikes since its launch. Interestingly, the manual versions see a better resale value than the automatic, likely because of it being a dual-clutch unit, which has a slightly negative sentiment (in terms of long-term reliability) in the Indian market.

Maruti Suzuki Vitara Brezza

The diesel Brezza may be long gone, but it still holds its value in the used car market. These used models are the only way to own a diesel Brezza today, as with the advent of the BS6 norms, Maruti Suzuki replaced the SUV’s diesel engine with a petrol unit. The 1.3-litre Fiat sourced diesel was known for its efficiency and reliability and is thus still clearly sought out in the market today.

Furthermore, being a Maruti also helps the Brezza retain its value. Three-year and older models hold value far better than the competition, even two-year-old versions depreciate at the lowest rate, second to only the Hyundai Venue.

Notes: All prices in INR lakh. Depreciation percentages are based on original on-road prices.

Also see:

Kia Seltos has segment best resale value: Autocar India, OLX Autos study

Autocar India, OLX Autos team up for comprehensive Resale Value Study

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