Tesla bagged the top spot among American car brands in Consumer Reports’ annual auto brand report. On a global basis, the EV firm ranked eighth, while the top spot was claimed by Audi. Mostly foreign brands occupied other spots in the top ten list.
German automakers continue to dominate
Consumer Reports follows certain rules for its annual brand analysis to determine what rank it should allocate to each automaker.
Explaining the process, the product review magazine said, “The Overall Score is the combination of our road tests, predicted reliability, owner satisfaction, and safety. For each brand we indicate the percentage of tested models that earned a recommended designation. This percentage reveals a meaningful differentiation.”
Based on the scoring system, the first and second ranks were claimed by Audi and Porsche, respectively (Both are owned by Volkswagen). Audi was the top brand for the second time in a row. German automakers claimed the top three spots, with BMW sitting at the third spot. The fourth and fifth spots were held by Lexus and Subaru, respectively.
Just two models from Tesla helped it secure the title of the best American brand. Similarly, Chrysler has one of the higher average road-test scores based on just two models: the 300 and Pacifica. Both models failed to get Consumer Reports’ recommendation because of their low overall scores, however.
Only two American automakers could make it onto the top ten list, of which the first is Tesla, while the other is Buick, which ended up securing the tenth position.
Tesla and Consumer Reports have a love/hate relationship
Just last year, Consumer Reports allotted a score of 103 out of 100 to the P85D, calling the Model S the best car it had ever tested. However, the glory was short-lived, as the Model S could not perform well in the magazine’s reliability survey, scoring below average.
CEO Elon Musk was quick to reply that the company has checked all the issues that Consumer Reports highlighted, and that almost all owners of the Model S are content with their purchase. In October, the Model S re-earned Consumer Reports’ recommendation, but the magazine and the EV firm were still at odds over several other issues, mainly related to Autopilot.
On Tuesday, Tesla shares closed up 1.53% at $249.99. Year to date, the stock is up almost 17%, while in the last year, it is up more than 31%. The 52-week high for the stock is $287.39, while the 52-week low is $179.19.
