Kelley Blue Book® Residual Values Named Approved Guide Book by RVI Group

IRVINE, Calif., Oct. 7 /PRNewswire/ -- Kelley Blue Book, www.kbb.com, the leading provider of used car values and residual analysis, announces a new relationship with RVI Group www.rivgroup.com, the pre-eminent name in residual value insurance, in which RVI now recognizes Kelley Blue Book as its approved Residual Value Guide and will henceforth insure vehicle residual values based upon the company's residual value forecasts.

The past twelve months have seen levels of volatility that have surpassed anything previously seen in the industry, and the recent financial crisis has demonstrated the need to incorporate additional macroeconomic factors into the forecast methodology. In this new relationship, Kelley Blue Book will fulfill RVI's exacting forecasting requirement for insuring residual values.

"After performing our due diligence for more than a year, we are confident that Kelley Blue Book's approach delivers extremely reliable vehicle residual values," said Rene Abdalah, vice president of RVI Analytical Services. "We chose Kelley Blue Book due to our common approach and the company's methodological transparency. We respect the clarity of Kelley Blue Book's forecast model assumptions and their in-depth product knowledge of the vehicles we insure."

Kelley Blue Book uses a time-tested methodology of collecting millions of vehicle transactions and reporting projections based on current vehicle data, sales data, market conditions for each vehicle, competition within vehicle segments, expectations of the future economy and the combined experience of Kelley Blue Book's team of market and pricing analysts. Kelley Blue Book's Residual Values are used by banks, financial institutions, governmental agencies and the automotive leasing industry. 

"Our goal has always been to support manufacturers, banks and other financial institution partners in mitigating risk, sustaining profitability and having the broadest understanding of the vehicle marketplace as possible," said Eric Ibara, director of residual value consulting at Kelley Blue Book. "Our advanced modeling capabilities allow us to develop a forecast that incorporates the quantifiable elements and minimizes the subjectivity of the model, providing a broad view incorporating the effects of industry volatility as well as economic forces."

The Kelley Blue Book Residual Value Guide is published bi-monthly in hard copy form and now in electronic format. Subscribers of the electronic version will benefit from the latest forecast a full 45-days earlier than book subscribers.

About RVI Group

The pioneer in residual value insurance, RVI and its family of companies have been serving the Auto Finance Industry for over 20 years by helping clients improve the financial performance of their leasing, securitization, and other residual-driven financings. RVI's underwriting expertise and automotive experience benefit its clients through a broad range of risk management and assessment products and services. Learn more about RVI at www.rvigroup.com.

About Kelley Blue Book

Since 1926, Kelley Blue Book, The Trusted Resource®, has provided vehicle buyers and sellers with the new and used vehicle information they need to accomplish their goals with confidence. The company's top-rated Web site, www.kbb.com, provides the most up-to-date pricing and values, including the New Car Blue Book® Value, which reveals what people actually are paying for new cars. The company also reports vehicle pricing and values via products and services, including software products and the famous Blue Book® Official Guide. According to the C.A. Walker Research Solutions, Inc. - 2009 Spring Automotive Web Site Usefulness Study, kbb.com is the most useful automotive information Web site among new and used vehicle shoppers, and half of online vehicle shoppers visit kbb.com. Kbb.com is a leading provider of new car prices, car reviews and news, used car blue book values, auto classifieds and car dealer locations. No other medium reaches more in-market vehicle shoppers than kbb.com.

SOURCE Kelley Blue Book

SOURCE: Kelley Blue Book

Web site: http://www.kbb.com/
http://www.rvigroup.com/