Sustainability and ecosystem development are now among the core metrics determining automotive brand value, a new report by AutoVision Awards has suggested.
According to the 2025 AutoVision Global Automotive Brand Value Evaluation Report, as the global automotive industry continues to transition towards electrification and intelligent systems, ‘ecosystem building capacity’ and ‘long-term sustainable competitiveness’ have replaced ‘market scale’ as the decisive factors for a brand’s future standing.
These shifts are linked to broader macroeconomic and industry pressures, including supply chain restructuring, changes to the trade policy landscape, and geopolitical developments.
As the report noted, Toyota ranks first in terms of global automotive brand value, followed by Volkswagen, with BYD rising one place to third – the first time a Chinese automotive brand has ranked in the top three.
Other top performers include Hyundai-Kia Group (4th), BMW (5th), Tesla (6th), Ford (7th), Mercedes-Benz (8th), Geely (9th) and Honda (10th).
‘Ecosystem and sustainability’
“The core shift in this year’s evaluation system lies in the increased weighting of ecosystem and sustainability,” commented Alexander V. Kammel, founder and chairman of AutoVision Awards, adding that the assessment takes into account the overlapping of electrification, intelligence, supply chain restructuring, geopolitical volatility, and rising trade protectionism within the global automotive industry.
As the report notes, leading automotive brands are ‘moving beyond’ traditional manufacturing to develop open ecosystems that incorporate energy systems, data management, software platforms, and service networks.
‘A significant positive correlation was found between brand value growth and substantive investments in the circular economy, carbon neutrality, and social responsibility,’ the report noted.
As it concluded, the industry has now entered a ‘stage of systematic competition’, focusing more in integrated strategies rather than isolated technological breakthroughs or short-term sales gains. Manufacturers that will win in the future will be those that can combine ‘products, technology, and sustainability commitments with a clear global brand vision’. Read more here.
2025 AutoVision Global Automotive Brand Value Evaluation Report
| 2025 Rank | 2024 Rank | Group Name | Overall Score | Change in Rank (2025 vs 2024) |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 2 | Toyota | 75.13 | +1 |
| 2 | 1 | Volkswagen | 74.70 | -1 |
| 3 | 4 | BYD | 74.62 | +1 |
| 4 | 3 | Hyundai-Kia Group | 67.41 | -1 |
| 5 | 7 | BMW | 67.38 | +2 |
| 6 | 5 | Tesla | 64.56 | -1 |
| 7 | 10 | Ford | 64.07 | +3 |
| 8 | 6 | Mercedes-Benz | 62.18 | -2 |
| 9 | 9 | Geely | 61.13 | 0 |
| 10 | 11 | Honda | 60.90 | +1 |
| 11 | 8 | Stellantis | 58.35 | -3 |
| 12 | 12 | General Motors (GM) | 57.01 | 0 |
| 13 | New | Great Wall Motors | 54.81 | New |
| 14 | 13 | Nissan | 51.85 | -1 |
| 15 | 25 | Chery | 48.63 | +10 |
| 16 | 21 | Changan | 47.96 | +5 |
| 17 | 14 | SAIC | 47.61 | -3 |
| 18 | New | Volvo | 43.70 | New |
| 19 | 15 | Renault | 37.90 | -4 |
| 20 | 24 | GAC | 37.14 | +4 |
| 21 | 16 | FAW | 36.35 | -5 |
| 22 | 17 | Tata Motors | 35.80 | -5 |
| 23 | 21 | BAIC | 35.20 | -2 |
| 24 | 19 | Suzuki | 34.46 | -5 |
| 25 | 23 | Mazda | 34.24 | -2 |
| 26 | New | Dongfeng Motor | 31.83 | New |
| 27 | New | Subaru | 30.86 | New |
| 28 | New | Porsche | 29.12 | New |
| 29 | New | Mitsubishi | 27.33 | New |
| 30 | New | Isuzu | 26.55 | New |
