Strategic Vision (SV) today released its 2025 Brand Equity Index™ (BEI), the only metric that captures the emotional DNA of automotive brands. With more than three decades of tracking value-emotions, SV has consistently predicted which brands will rise, which will fall, and which are only pretending to matter. A few key stories have emerged over that time: 1) there is more to Jaguar than they have been given credit for, 2) Genesis is quietly owning Mercedes brand image, and 3) for a brand that is often in the news, Tesla, “We told you so years ago.” The brands that consistently lead in BEI have predicted brand strength and sales: Toyota, Honda, Lexus, and Mercedes-Benz are the same leaders in 2025 BEI.

There is more to Jaguar than they have received credit for recently in the press and competitors shouldn’t be too quick to dismiss the brand after its missteps last year. This year, Jaguar owners rank their brand as the most Refined in America, even ahead of Mercedes-Benz. Non-owners don’t see it yet, but that is a hidden advantage that Jaguar could take advantage of. Should Jaguar tell the story that its owners already live, it can turn a hidden truth into a market advantage. Equity exists in the hearts of those who know. The job now is for Jaguar to pounce and make the world see it, just not like they did at Art Basil.

Genesis could be the Sulsa (ancient elite Korean warriors) of the automotive world; underestimated by many, but perfectly trained, refined, and striking well in the U.S. luxury market. BEI saw it years ago in the voices of Genesis owners, even when non-owners were still loyal to Mercedes. Today, the brand’s moment is approaching. In 2020, owners already rated Genesis the strongest in Confidence and Refinement, even when non-owners still crowned Mercedes-Benz. “A few luxury brands may need to undergo a rapid ‘genesis,’ or this verb will give way to the noun,” says Christopher Chaney, Strategic Vision’s Senior Vice President. That gap, we said then, was the story of the future. Today, Genesis continues to close it. BEI saw it first.

“We told you so years ago,” responded Strategic Vision’s president, Alexander Edwards, when asked about Tesla’s weaker interest, sales, and BEI rankings. When Wall Street treated Tesla as financially bulletproof, BEI data was already warning of turbulence. As early as 2020, BEI showed Tesla at the bottom in perceived Quality and Security, saved only by its image of Fun and Innovation. By 2022, SV flagged that Musk’s Twitter antics were eroding every strand of Tesla’s DNA: Safety, Refinement, Excitement. “However, this doesn’t mean that Tesla is finished,” continued Edwards. “Tesla’s charging network, success in providing regulatory credit sales, and the simple fact that many automotive buyers see the brand as offering best-in-class sports cars all suggest that with the correct narrative shift they can begin to win over consumers again.”

The 2025 BEI Winners have mastered an emotional foundation and then unlocked leverage, setting them apart from other brands. Honda is the unshakable leader in the Under-$38K category, built on Trust, Safety, and Confidence. Toyota has Quality as a bedrock value and continues to dominate the $38K–$49K tier. Lexus led in Completeness and Refinement, which keeps it ahead in $50K–$61K. Finally, Mercedes-Benz was a leader in perceived Prestige and Refinement, backed by Security, placing it atop $62K and Over. The lessons learned from these leaders across every segment are clear: foundation first, then leverage. Toothpaste must clean your teeth before taste matters. Rollercoasters must be safe before excitement matters. In cars, Security, Trust, and Reliability come first. Only then can Fun, Prestige, and Excitement have meaning.

Since 1995, SV’s BEI has been the most predictive measure of brand strength and sales. We saw Tesla’s fall, Genesis’s rise, the limits of EV adoption, and the dominance of Honda, Toyota, Lexus, and Mercedes years before others. And now, in 2025, we are telling you again: listen to the data or get left behind.

The full 2025 Brand Equity Index Report is available exclusively to subscribers of Strategic Vision’s New Vehicle Experience Study (NVES). BEI incorporates the voice of new-vehicle buyers asked to rate automotive brands, both those they purchased and those they did not, in three key areas that ultimately add up to the overall BEI score. The first key area is “Believed Brand Quality,” often seen as the reliability and future durability expected of the brand. The second area is “future consideration” of brands they “definitely,” “might,” or “would not” consider for a future purchase. The final section, “Brand Values” focuses on identifying the brand value-emotions, or the brand DNA, connected to perceptions about what the brand stands for among Owners and Non-Owners. These value-emotions start with foundational values such as perceived Safety, Trust, and Confidence and move to the higher value-emotions such as Fun, Prestige and Refinement.

Since its incorporation in 1989, Strategic Vision has studied consumer and constituent decision-making for the widest variety of clients, including most auto manufacturers, Coca-Cola, American Airlines, Procter and Gamble, and most advertising agencies. Its unique expertise is identifying consumers’ motivational hierarchies, including the values that shape perceptions, capture the customers’ emotional responses and drive behavior. The firm’s in-depth Discovery Interviews and ValueCentered Surveys provide comprehensive, integrated, and actionable outcomes. For further information or interview requests, please get in touch with Alexander Edwards or Christopher Chaney at (858) 576-7141 or visit www.strategicvision.com.

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For 30 years, Strategic Vision’s BEI has predicted automotive winners & losers. The 2025 BEI confirms Toyota, Honda, Lexus & Mercedes as leaders—while Jaguar shows hidden strength, Genesis rises, and Tesla faces turbulence.