Toyota cars are number one in Ireland for retaining their value for longer than other car brands, according to the results of a comprehensive new study by Cartell.ie.

The study analysed the residual values of new cars in the Irish market originally purchased in 2010, with up to 50,000 km on the clock. Cartell.ie developed a mathematical model based on two years of advertised car prices from Ireland's leading used car sales site Carzone.ie, plus Autotrader.ie and also from Adverts.ie, taking into account more than 200,000 data points. Given that used cars are individually unique, prices were mathematically normalised to a value representative of 50,000km for 2010 cars.

Of the nine categories examined (including both petrol and diesel models in each class size), Toyota ranked first in seven out of nine categories. The rankings are as follows:

*         Toyota Aygo ranked first in the A segment, petrol.

*         Toyota Yaris ranked first in the B segment for both petrol and diesel.

*         Toyota Corolla ranked first of all C segment petrol passenger vehicles, and Auris ranked first in diesel.

*         Toyota Avensis ranked first in the D segment, petrol.

*         Toyota Verso ranked first in the small MPV diesel segment.

Commenting on the study, David Shannon, Managing Director of Toyota Ireland said: "When it comes to buying a new car, the assessment of true value goes well beyond the initial retail price. People need to consider not only the day to day running costs, but also the total cost of ownership - including what the value of their car is when it comes time to change it."