Press release

Results of the 2014 DEKRA Used Car Report

German manufacturers perform very well:

Best ranking in six out of nine classes

Evaluation according to mileage ignoring problems resulting from

maintenance

New vehicle class: Small vans

Report available as a free app and online

German car manufacturers performed very well in the fault evaluation: That
is what the 2014 DEKRA Used Car Report shows. In the leading testing
organisations annual evaluation, German makes achieved the best
ranking in six out of nine vehicle classes. As the vehicle showcasing the
best properties across all mileage ranges, the title of Best of All Classes
went to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class. In the Car of the Year category, the
B-Class was the front-runner, with the best fault index in a single mileage
range. The results of the DEKRA Used Car Report are now available online
and as a free app for mobile devices. In conducting the evaluations, the
DEKRA experts filter through the results of 15 million primary inspections
that have taken place over the past two years, looking for information that
is relevant in evaluating used cars.
Our Used Car Report acts as a guideline for potential used car buyers. It
provides detailed information about the typical faults of particular models. At the
same time, it ranks each vehicle in relation to similar models in the same market
segment, says Dr Gerd Neumann, Member of the Management Board of
DEKRA Automobil GmbH, who is responsible for the area of testing and
inspection.
For this reason, the DEKRA Used Car Report does not take into account typical
problems resulting from maintenance, which have more to do with the vehicles
owner than its construction, such as worn out tyres and wiper blades or defective
exterior mirrors. With this special form of evaluation, we can ensure that our
statistics incorporate primarily faults specific to used cars, explains Dr
Neumann. Both this and the lower limit for the number of units contribute to the
statistically informative value of our report. Figures for a particular model are only
displayed in the report if we have checked at least 1,000 vehicles of this model in
Date
Contact
Tel. (direct line)
Fax (direct line)
E-mail
Page

Stuttgart, 19 February 2014 / No. 018

Wolfgang Sigloch
+49 711.7861-2386
+49 711.7861-2913
wolfgang.sigloch@dekra.com
1/4

DEKRA e.V.
Corporate
Communications
Handwerkstrasse 15
70565 Stuttgart
Germany
www.dekra.com/press

the relevant mileage range over the evaluation period.

The DEKRA Fault Index (DFI) is a key figure of the holistic evaluation. It
calculates the percentage of vehicles without relevant faults as well as the
percentage of vehicles with significant faults, thus increasing the accuracy of the
statistical information. To calculate the DFI, the without relevant faults
percentage value is deducted from the with significant faults value. This gives
the faults classed as significant a greater weighting in the evaluation.

Evaluation according to vehicle class and mileage category

The mileage category is an important statistic for the DEKRA Used Car Report
evaluation in the DEKRA experts opinion, mileage has more of an effect on a
vehicles susceptibility to faults than its age. A distinction is made between three
mileage ranges for the models in each vehicle class (050,000 km, 50,001
100,000 km and 100,001150,000 km).
An effective comparison is made possible through a total of nine different vehicle
classes, from small cars to vans. This includes the latest small vans vehicle
class, which was added this year. This addition fills the last gap. Our report now
covers practically the entire range of cars and vans, says the CEO of DEKRA.

Winners in the individual vehicle classes

The DEKRA experts select the vehicle with the best DFI as the winner for each
vehicle class:

Mini/small cars: Audi A1 (DFI: 96.4)

Compact class: BMW 1 Series (96.8)
Medium class: Volvo S60 / V60 (98.7)
Upper medium class/upper class: Mercedes-Benz E-Class (97.4).
Sports cars: BMW Z4 (97.2)
SUVs: Mercedes-Benz GLK (95.0)
MPVs: Mercedes-Benz B-Class (99.2).
Small vans: koda Roomster (83.1)
Vans: Renault Master (83.1)

Winners in the overall evaluation

The vehicle that achieves the best evaluation results on average across all
vehicle classes and all three mileage ranges receives the title Best of All
Classes. This year, that accolade went to the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (DFI:
93.5), beating the Audi Q5 (91.0) and the Audi A5 (88.1). The Best of All

Page 2

Classes category factors in the usage period from 0 to 150,000 km. This
generates a reliable result over longer mileages, explains Dr Gerd Neumann.
The Mercedes-Benz B-Class (best DFI single value: 99.2) came out on top in the
2014 DEKRA Used Car Report Car of the Year category, followed by the Volvo
S60 / V60 (98.7) and the Mercedes-Benz E-Class (97.4).

German manufacturers perform very well

The 2014 DEKRA Used Car Report shows German manufacturers to be in a
leading position once again for reliability and quality. Cars produced in Germany
figure among the winners in six out of nine vehicle classes from small cars to
vans. If we also take into account the best vehicles in the higher mileage ranges,
they achieve 20 out of a total of 27 best rankings.

New special evaluation Discontinued Popular Models appears in the

report for the second time
For the second time, the 2014 DEKRA Used Car Report included a feature
evaluation under the title Discontinued Popular Models. This category
represents a segment of the used car market that is becoming ever more
important: vehicle models that have no longer been available as new cars for
some time but that feature prominently on the used car market. According to
DEKRA experts, potential buyers with a small budget in particular look for
information targeted towards cars like this. In the feature evaluation, which has
been expanded to include additional models, the mileage ranges in comparison
with the other vehicle classes in the report are brought into line with the actual
mileages: the mileages covered range from 50,000 km to 200,000 km.

The DEKRA Used Car Report available online and as an app

The results of the 2014 DEKRA Used Car Report are now available online at
www.used-car-report.com and also as a free app for the iPhone, iPad and
android mobile phones.

About DEKRA
DEKRA SE is one of the worlds leading expert organisations. The company currently
runs activities in more than 50 countries. More than 30,000 employees are committed to
ensuring long-term safety, quality and environmental protection. The DEKRA Business
Units Automotive, Industrial and Personnel provide professional and innovative
services in the fields of vehicle testing, expert appraisals, international claims settlement,

Page 3

consulting, industrial testing, product testing, certification, environmental protection,

qualification as well as temporary work. In 2013, DEKRA generated preliminary sales
totalling approximately 2.3 billion Euros.

Page 4