Axios Harris Poll 100: Automotive brands show resilience

Faith in traditional automotive brands is stronger amid a wave of pandemic-related disruptions that underscored the importance of personal vehicles and the freedom to travel, new rankings from the Axios Harris Poll 100 suggest.

• While Toyota (No. 7), Honda (No. 9) and Tesla (No. 12) were the three highest-rated car brands, Stellantis and General Motors both climbed sharply in the annual survey.

• Stellantis (No. 45), better known for its sub-brands like Jeep, Dodge and Ram, jumped 30 spots after its rebranding through the merger of Fiat Chrysler Automobiles and PSA Groupe.
• GM climbed 16 spots, to No. 52, in the rankings of brand reputation, driven by big gains in attributes such as trust, vision and growth.

The big picture: People are often quick to dismiss legacy automakers like GM and Ford in favor of sexy newcomers. But these results show how deeply traditional car brands still resonate with everyday Americans, even as carmakers race to reinvent themselves for a new era.

• GM said its improvement in the poll was "another proof point that we are making progress on our journey to create a world with zero crashes, zero emissions and zero congestion."

Between the lines: The pandemic made cars harder to come by — and cost more — because of chip shortages and other supply chain disruptions.

• But as travel rebounds and workers head back to the office, vehicle demand remains strong.

Details: Toyota climbed 11 spots and Ford (No. 41) climbed 9 spots in the Axios Harris poll, an annual survey to gauge the reputations of the 100 most visible brands in the country.

• Honda, Tesla and Subaru (No. 20) all slipped in the rankings, but their reputations remain strong.

The bottom line: Don't write off Big Auto just yet.

Go deeper: Full results and methodology; Friendly brands poisoned by politics

Editor’s note: This story and chart were updated to include historical data about Ford and Stellantis that shows Stellantis made the largest jump, at 30 spots.