Upstart Tesla Makes the Top 5 in Consumer Reports' Brand Perception Survey

Toyota is an old family firm. Ford is 111 years old. Chevrolet celebrated its centennial not long ago. Mercedes-Benz traces its lineage back to the 19th century. Though not 100 years old like those companies, Honda has been around for more than a half century. In Consumer Reports’ latest brand perception survey, Tesla Motors, a relative neophyte car company barely a decade old, has elbowed its way past Mercedes-Benz for a spot in the top 5 automobile brands assigned points for quality, safety, value, design and technology. The results are based on a poll of 1,578 vehicle owners. CR had earlier named the Tesla Model S electric car as among the very best it has ever tested.

Tesla jumped to 5th in the survey, up from 11th last year and follows Toyota, Ford, Honda and Chevrolet in that order.

“Consumers are influenced by word of mouth, marketing and hands-on experience,” Jeff Bartlett, Consumer Reports deputy automotive editor, said in a statement. “Perception can be a trailing indicator, reflecting years of good or bad performance in a category, and it can also be influenced by headlines in the media.”

In addition to giving the Model S the highest score ever given in their testing , the magazine said in November that the Model S also placed first in its owner satisfaction poll.

While Mercedes-Benz fell to 7th place in the survey, Toyota not only stayed in first place, it widened its lead over second place, which this year is occupied by Ford, as Honda fell to third place. Subaru jumped from 13th to 6th, while Hyundai and Dodge fell out of the top 10. Jaguar, Land Rover and Maserati had the lowest brand rankings.

Full report here (PDF).