What Cars Depreciate the Most?

EVs and luxury models lead the pack — here's what the real 2026 data means for your car's value right now.

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iSeeCars analyzed over 950,000 five-year-old used cars sold between March 2025 and February 2026. The average vehicle lost 41.8% of its value over five years — but that average hides a huge gap between the best and worst performers, and knowing where your car falls tells you a lot about whether selling now or later makes sense.

The Worst Performers: EVs and Luxury

Electric vehicles depreciate faster than any other category, losing an average 57.2% of value over five years — nearly double the rate of trucks. EVs and luxury models together make up 24 of the 25 fastest-depreciating vehicles in the study. The single worst performer was the Jaguar I-Pace at 72.2% lost over five years, followed by the Nissan Leaf (63.1%) and Infiniti QX80 (62.8%).

Why EVs specifically lose value so fast: buyer anxiety over battery degradation and replacement cost — which ranges from roughly $4,000 for a small Nissan Leaf pack to over $22,000 for a Tesla Model S pack — combined with rapid year-over-year technology improvements that make older EVs feel outdated faster, and a growing supply of off-lease EVs hitting the used market faster than demand absorbs them.

Luxury vehicles depreciate faster for a simpler reason: the used market doesn't value premium styling, materials, and badge prestige the way the new-car market does, so a luxury car consistently loses more value than a mechanically comparable mainstream model.

The Best Performers: Trucks and Hybrids

Trucks had the lowest average five-year depreciation of any category at 34.2%, with hybrids close behind at 35.4%. Specific strong retainers included the Toyota Tacoma, Toyota Tundra, and Honda Civic. This lines up neatly with Texas's own vehicle mix — the Ford F-150 is the single most popular vehicle in the state, and Texas's full-size truck market is growing faster than the national average. Most Texans' actual vehicles hold value meaningfully better than the national depreciation conversation implies, with a notable exception for the state's substantial luxury and EV-owning population in Houston, Dallas, and Austin.

Depreciation Stacks With Damage — It Doesn't Replace It

A salvage or branded title cuts value by 20–60% compared to a clean-title equivalent — on top of, not instead of, the normal age-based depreciation curve described above. A five-year-old EV with a salvage title is compounding two of the steepest value-loss factors that exist in the used car market at once.

Why the Fleet Is Aging Regardless

New and used vehicle prices have risen faster than incomes, pushing more owners to keep cars past the steepest early depreciation years and invest in repairs instead of trading in — the average U.S. vehicle is now 12.8 years old, the oldest fleet on record. That means more vehicles are sitting well past the point where depreciation curves matter for a trade-in, and closer to the point where a straightforward cash sale makes more sense than continuing to absorb ownership costs on a car that's already lost most of its value.

What This Means for Your Car Right Now

If you own an EV or luxury vehicle, waiting rarely helps — these categories lose value faster than almost anything else on the road, and every additional year narrows the gap between what you'd get today and what you'll get later. If you own a truck, your car has likely held value better than the depreciation headlines suggest, which is still worth confirming with a real number rather than assuming. Either way, the only way to know what your specific car is worth today is to get an instant cash offer and see the real number.

What Cars Depreciate the Most? FAQ

What type of car depreciates the fastest?
Electric vehicles as a category depreciate fastest, losing an average of 57.2% of value over five years according to a 2026 industry study — nearly double the rate of trucks. Luxury vehicles are the second-worst category; together EVs and luxury models make up 24 of the 25 fastest-depreciating vehicles in the study.
Do trucks hold their value better than cars?
Yes — trucks had the lowest average five-year depreciation of any vehicle category in the 2026 study at 34.2%, compared to a 41.8% all-vehicle average. That matters directly for Texas owners, since the Ford F-150 is the single best-selling vehicle in the state.
Why do luxury cars lose value so fast?
The used car market doesn't value premium styling, materials, and badge prestige the way the new car market does, so luxury vehicles consistently depreciate faster than mainstream models even when mechanically comparable.
Is my electric car worth less because people are worried about the battery?
Likely a factor — buyer concern over battery degradation and replacement cost (ranging roughly $4,000 to $25,000+ depending on the vehicle) is one of several reasons cited for accelerated EV depreciation, along with fast year-over-year tech improvements and a growing supply of off-lease EVs entering the used market.
Does a salvage or branded title affect depreciation on top of normal wear?
Yes, substantially — a salvage title cuts value by 20–60% compared to a clean-title equivalent of the same car, on top of, not instead of, normal age-based depreciation. Even a professionally rebuilt vehicle retains 15–30% less value long-term due to buyer stigma.
If depreciation is so steep in the first five years, why do people keep cars so long now?
Because new and used vehicle prices have risen faster than incomes, more owners are choosing to keep cars past the steepest depreciation years and invest in repairs instead of trading in — pushing the average U.S. vehicle age to 12.8 years, the oldest fleet on record.