Japanese Brands Own The List Of Cars U.S. Owners Keep For 10+ Years

A new study shows that, in the US, the top 10 cars most likely to be owned for 10 or more years are built by either Toyota, Honda, Subaru or Lexus.

The study was conducted by iSeeCars and showed that SUVs and minivans , but also hybrids such as the first-ranked Toyota Highlander Hybrid, the Toyota Prius and the Lexus RX were the most popular choices for the long haul.

In order to complete their study, iSeeCars analyzed over 2.5 million used cars (MY 1981 to 2006) sold between January 1 and October 30.

In total, there are five Toyota models, three Hondas, one Lexus and one Subaru, while the percentage of original owners who kept their new car for at least a decade ranges between 4 and 32.1 percent.

“The top 10 cars that people hold onto are all from Japanese automakers, which isn’t surprising since they have a reputation for reliability. But the makeup of the cars is unexpected,” said Phong Ly, CEO of iSeeCars.

“These kinds of cars tend to be used as family cars, so they might be expected to be kept for many years if they’re bought just as their owners start their new families,” added Ly.

The full list looks like this and includes the percentage of original owners keeping the car for 10 or more years:

1. Toyota Highlander Hybrid – 32.1%
2. Toyota Prius – 32.0%
3. Toyota Highlander – 29.0%
4. Toyota Sienna – 28.7%
5. Honda Pilot – 27.2%
6. Honda CR-V – 25.2%
7. Toyota RAV4 – 24.9%
8. Subaru Forester – 24.2%
9. Lexus RX Hybrid – 24.1%
10. Honda Odyssey – 24.0%

On average, just 12.9% of people are likely to hold onto their cars for at least 10 years, and only the Camry (20.3%), Accord (17.7%), Civic (17.1%), Silverado 1500 (13.9%) and Altima (13.3%) owners are keeping their cars more than the nationwide average.

Looking at it from a brand perspective, you’ll see that four out of the top five brands are Japanese (Toyota – 22.2%, Honda – 20.2%, Subaru – 19.1%, Acura – 17.8%), followed by Hyundai (17.4%), Lexus (16.5%), Kia (15.1%), Mazda (14.2%), Nissan (13.5%) and GMC (13.0%) finally cracking the list at number 10 as the only domestic brand.

Another top 10, this time for passenger cars their owners keep for at least 10 years (average at 12.9%), looks like this:

1. Toyota Prius – 32.0%
2. Toyota Avalon – 21.6%
3. Hyundai Azera – 21.1%
4. Toyota Corolla – 20.4%
5. Toyota Camry – 20.3%
6. Audi A3 – 18.9%
7. Mazda3 – 18.4%
8. Honda Accord – 17.7%
9. Hyundai Elantra – 17.5%
10. Honda Civic – 17.1%

Finally, if you’re curious about trucks only, just 9 models tend to stay with their owners more than the nation-wide average of 12.9%:

1. Honda Ridgeline – 22.3%
2. Toyota Tundra – 21.5%
3. Toyota Tacoma – 21.4%
4. Nissan Titan – 17.9%
5. Nissan Frontier – 17.0%
6. Chevrolet Colorado – 15.1%
7. GMC Canyon – 15.1%
8. Chevrolet Silverado – 13.9%
9. GMC Sierra 1500 – 13.7%
10. RAM 1500 – 11.5% (less than the average)