Each year, Price Digests issues the coveted Highest Retained Value Awards (HRVAs) for commercial trucks. Using data from our industry-leading database, we recognize the commercial trucks that are anticipated to retain the most value over a five-year period. This year, we’ll be announcing the 2022 Price Digests HRVA Awards at the American Trucking Association’s 2022 Management Conference & Exhibition (MCE) in October.

While we process the data for this year’s awards, we figured that now’s a good time to look at a few winners from our first awards in 2019 and see how their values are trending today.

Overview of the HRVAs

Before we dive into the data, let’s go over how the HRVAs are determined. The retained value is how much an item (in this case, commercial trucks), is expected to be worth over a period of time. For the HRVAs, we use market data, depreciation standards, and our proprietary algorithm to estimate a truck’s retained value at the end of a five-year period.

We measure retained values as the average percentage of initial value retained after five years for commercial trucks purchased new or on the used market. Our HRVA analysis is based on newly purchased, current model year assets. This approach eliminates confusion and allows us to show an apples-to-apples comparison between models from different brands.

We’re still in the process of crunching the numbers for this year’s awards, and my colleague, Sam Pierce, points out that soaring commercial truck prices will continue to have an effect: have witnessed, used truck prices are retaining a much higher percentage of their original value in the current market. We’re eager to share how current market trends are impacting HRVA winners and which models are retaining a higher value through the current demand than competitors.”

How 2019 HRVA Winners Are Faring Today

Let’s look at a few HRVA winners from 2019 to see how much value they’ve retained since they were first announced. We’re three years into the five-year retained value prediction, and the winning trucks are maintaining their value as predicted. In the details below, we’ll cover the average MSRP, the retained value in December 2019, the average price over the last 12 months (three years after release), and the current retained value.

Freightliner 3500

The Freightliner 3500 won the Light Duty Cargo Vans category in 2019. With an average MSRP of $48,190, its retained value was 84.04% in 2019. The average value over the last 12 months reached $40,263, and the current retained value is 88.72%.

Peterbilt 325

The Peterbilt 325 was the 2019 Medium Duty Conventional Cab and Chassis category winner. The average MSRP was $55,088 and it was expected to retain 84.95% of value in December 2019. The average price over the last 12 months was $40,703, and the retained value is currently 74.28%.

International Workstar 7000

The International Workstar 7000 won the Heavy Duty Conventional Cab and Chassis category in 2019. The average MSRP was $113,790, and the retained value in December 2019 was 68.51%. Over the last 12 months, average value reached $89,950 and the retained value stands at 88.26%

Stay Tuned for this Year’s Winners

We can’t wait to announce this year’s winners. We’ll be in the Randall Reilly booth at the ATA/MCE show in October with results.  In the meantime, take a look at our past winners for light, medium and heavy duty trucks on our website.

Edited to correct text for International Workstar December 2019 retained value as 68.51%

About Price Digests

Since 1911 Price Digests has served the vehicle data needs of the insurance, finance, government, and dealer markets through its portfolio of VIN decoding, specifications, and market value data solutions for the commercial truck, passenger vehicle, marine, powersport, and recreational vehicle asset classes. Our data + intelligence solutions pave roads to faster and better decisions with perfect-fit data delivery, whether it’s seamlessly integrated APIs, online subscriptions or custom data delivery.