These Two Japanese Car Brands Top Kelley Blue Book's Best Resale Value Rankings

Resale value is usually important to new car buyers; most people don't want to see tens of thousands of dollars fly out their garage door in a few years. Along with the outlet's surveys regarding reliability and customer satisfaction, Kelley Blue Book's best resale value rankings can help you decide which cars are the smartest buys. Among 2025 models, the Toyota Motor Company is the unquestioned champion of resale value. The company's namesake brand landed the top spot for mainstream marques, while Toyota's luxury brand Lexus won for the best luxury brand. Five of the top 10 models wear Toyota badges; no other manufacturer scored more than one spot in the top 10. The five Toyota models that made it were the Tacoma and Tundra pickup trucks, 4Runner, RAV4, and GR Supra. The first four listed also scored tops in their respective categories: mid-size and full-size truck, off-road SUV, mid-size SUV, and full-size SUV. The RAV4 PHEV was tops among all plug-in hybrid vehicles, and other category wins came in the mid-size SUV class for the Grand Highlander and the full-sized SUV category for the Sequoia.

While Kelley Blue Book reports that the average new car loses over 55% of its value within five years, Toyota's five models in the top 10 all should be worth at least half their original price at this milestone. Some of the best Toyota models hold nearly 2/3 of their value through 60 months; this goes hand-in-hand with the brand's reputation for reliability. Toyota offers a comprehensive model lineup with sedans, SUVs and trucks in various sizes, plenty of hybrid options, and the fully-electric bZ. Toyota's vehicles range in cost from just over $26,000 with destination charge for the Corolla Cross to $66,000-plus for the hybrid Sequoia SUV, so there's something for every need and budget.

The history of Lexus officially goes back to 1989 with the launch of two sedans: the LS 400 and ES 250. The brand sold a million cars within its first decade, doubled that in another five years, and broke the ten million mark in 2019. Lexus sold more than 850,000 cars in 2024 alone thanks in large part to a 20% year-over-year increase in Europe. The 2025 Lexus lineup is similar to that of its mainstream parent brand. Lexus offers luxury SUVs of all sizes from subcompact through full-size along with an array of sedans.There are also plenty of hybrid and plug-in hybrid choices available across the Lexus lineup and the brand also offers a single EV (in this case the RZ). 

Lexus took Kelley Blue Book best resale value honors among luxury brands on the strength of individual wins in six different vehicle categories. The 2025 Lexus RX won among midsize luxury SUVs at just under 50%, and the 2025 Lexus UX bested all other subcompact luxury SUVs at 47.8%. Two other Lexus SUV models also won in their categories: the NX in the compact luxury SUV class and the aforementioned RZ as best electric SUV for value retention. Lexus cars also reigned supreme in two categories: the 2025 Lexus ES for midsize luxury cars at 44.1% and the 2025 Lexus LS for full-size luxury sedan at 42.3%. Like with Toyota-badged models, Lexus cars and SUVs retain so much of their value because of their reputation for reliable operation and long life.