01The headline numbers
This is the oldest argument in Malaysian motoring, and it is normally settled with anecdote. We settled it with 340,782 listings, two independent estimation methods, and a published list of everything we threw away.
74.0%
National, 5-year retention
Median of 7 corroborated models
66.6%
Japanese, 5-year retention
Median of 14 corroborated models
54.0%
Continental, 5-year retention
Median of 9 corroborated models
| Origin | Models | 3-year retention | 5-year retention | Near-new ask | 5-year-old ask | Lost per year |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| National | 7 | 87.9% | 74.0% | RM46,050 | RM36,605 | RM1,889 |
| Japanese | 14 | 82.2% | 66.6% | RM105,875 | RM72,007 | RM7,282 |
| Continental | 9 | 74.2% | 54.0% | RM264,745 | RM142,562 | RM24,437 |
02Which models are actually in each group
Group averages are only honest if you can see what is inside them. These are the 30 models that cleared every quality gate, split by origin and ranked within each group.
| Origin | Models, best retention first |
|---|---|
| National (7) | Perodua Myvi 79.4% · Perodua Alza 77.2% · Proton Iriz 75.2% · Perodua Axia 74.0% · Perodua Aruz 71.4% · Proton Saga 70.5% · Proton X70 65.4% |
| Japanese (14) | Honda City 77.2% · Toyota Yaris 75.9% · Toyota Corolla Altis 73.4% · Mazda CX-30 72.8% · Toyota Vios 72.2% · Honda CR-V 69.3% · Mazda 3 67.1% · Isuzu D-Max 66.0% · Honda HR-V 65.8% · Mazda CX-5 64.4% · Toyota Alphard 62.2% · Nissan Serena 59.2% · Nissan Almera 59.0% · Lexus RX350 57.8% |
| Continental (9) | MINI Cooper 69.4% · Volkswagen Golf 67.7% · MINI Countryman 59.9% · Mercedes-Benz E200 54.4% · BMW 530i 54.0% · BMW X4 51.5% · Volvo XC90 49.2% · BMW X3 48.6% · BMW X5 48.1% |
The overlap is the part most brand arguments miss. The MINI Cooper at 69.4% beats nine Japanese models, including the Honda CR-V, Mazda CX-5 and Nissan Almera. The Proton X70 at 65.4% sits below nine Japanese models. Origin is a tendency, not a rule, and using it to judge a specific car will mislead you regularly.
03Why the gap widens with age
Continental cars do not start out depreciating badly. They start out roughly comparable and then accelerate away in the second half of the first five years.
| At three years | At five years | |
|---|---|---|
| National | 87.9% | 74.0% |
| Japanese | 82.2% | 66.6% |
| Continental | 74.2% | 54.0% |
| National minus Continental | 13.7 points | 20.0 points |
What sits inside that widening:
- Warranty expiry lands hardest on complex cars. Once cover ends, the pool of buyers willing to carry repair risk on a large European car narrows sharply, and a narrow pool clears at a lower price.
- Repair and parts uncertainty is priced in. A buyer cannot know what a five-year-old executive saloon will need, so they discount for the possibility rather than the average.
- Thin resale markets punish high prices. Our Continental group carried 4,806 listings against 20,257 for national models. Fewer comparable listings means weaker price discovery and more downside for a seller in a hurry.
- Model cycles reprice everything at once. A new generation or facelift instantly resets the reference price for every earlier car, and low-volume models cannot absorb that.
Registration data supports the market-depth argument: the JPJ registration transactions published by data.gov.my and MAA's monthly production and sales reporting both show national and mainstream Japanese marques carrying the great majority of Malaysian volume. A car type that thousands of people buy new is a car type thousands of people will consider used.
04Depreciation is not the whole cost — but it is the biggest part
Buyers comparing across origins usually focus on servicing and parts. Those matter, but they are second-order next to what we have just measured.
| Cost element | How it differs by origin | Rough scale per year |
|---|---|---|
| Depreciation | The dominant difference. National RM1,889, Japanese RM7,282, Continental RM24,437 at the median. | Thousands to tens of thousands |
| Road tax (LKM) | Driven by engine capacity, not badge. A 1.3–1.5-litre national car sits at the bottom of the schedule; a 2.0-litre executive saloon sits several bands higher. | Roughly RM90 to RM900 |
| Servicing and parts | Genuinely higher on most Continental models, and more variable once out of warranty. | Hundreds to low thousands |
| Insurance | Scales with sum insured, so it follows the purchase price more than the origin. | Proportional to value |
05How to use this without being misled by it
Origin is a useful prior and a terrible verdict. Here is how to hold both ideas at once.
- Do use origin to set expectations. If you are buying a Continental model new, plan for roughly half its value to be gone at five years and do not build your next purchase around its resale.
- Do not use origin to judge a specific car. A MINI Cooper outperformed nine Japanese models here. Look up the model, not the continent.
- Buy Continental used, not new, if depreciation is your concern. The steep early curve that punishes the first owner is exactly what makes a five-year-old example good value — with a proper inspection and a real repair reserve.
- Read the ringgit column, always. A national car at 73% retention and a Continental at 57% are not competing for the same buyer, and the percentage alone tells you almost nothing about the money at stake.
- Remember what this is. Asking-price patterns across model-year cohorts in one snapshot, not completed sales, and not a forecast.
Where the ranking stops and your car starts
Group medians choose a category. They cannot tell you what your vehicle is worth, because year, variant, engine, transmission, mileage, service history, accident record, and condition all move the number materially. The group medians here are editorial analysis, not how a Carvaly valuation is calculated. Understanding your Carvaly valuation explains how to read a result.
Frequently asked questions
Do Continental cars really depreciate faster in Malaysia?
Yes, on median. In our 14 August 2026 analysis Continental models retained 54.0% of value over five years against 66.6% for Japanese and 74.0% for national models. But the gap is a tendency with heavy overlap — the MINI Cooper at 69.4% outperformed nine Japanese models in the same table.
How much more does a Continental car cost to own?
The dominant difference is depreciation, not maintenance. The median Continental model in our data lost about RM24,437 a year over five years against RM1,889 for the median national model — a gap of roughly RM22,548 a year. No realistic difference in servicing, road tax, or insurance approaches that figure.
Are national cars the best value for money then?
For protecting ringgit, they performed best in this analysis — the Perodua Axia lost the least actual money of any car we measured. But they retain a high percentage partly because they are inexpensive to begin with, so there is less value available to lose. Value for money depends on what you need the car to do.
Why aren't Hyundai and Kia included?
No Korean model had enough depth across model years, and enough agreement between our two estimation methods, to clear the publication gates in this snapshot. That is a limitation of our evidence for those models, not a judgement about how they hold value.
Is it smarter to buy a used Continental car?
Often, yes — if you inspect properly and budget for out-of-warranty repairs. The steep early depreciation that costs the first owner is exactly what makes a three-to-five-year-old example attractive. The risk shifts from value loss to repair exposure, so the inspection and the reserve fund matter more than the badge.
Sources and references
- Carvaly: Understanding your Carvaly valuation
- Carvaly Market Intelligence: Malaysia Used-Car Market Report · July 2026
- Malaysian Automotive Association (MAA): Production and Sales for May 2026
- Ministry of Investment, Trade and Industry (MITI): Approved Permit Categories for Motor Vehicles
- JPJ Malaysia: Motor Vehicle Licence Rate Calculation Guide
- data.gov.my: Car Registration Transactions