Tesla Ranks Last In Automotive Reputation Study

Although Subaru has seendisappointing sales for its new WRX, the brand's rugged crossovers like theForesterare clearly doing the job, and its dealers are coming to the party too with a customer experience that rates highly.

Following Subaru in the reputation score rankings for US non-luxury brands was Mitsubishi (689 points) which has seen a meteoric rise from 2020, when it ranked just 17th in the same study. Mitsubishi was followed by Toyota (679), Nissan (675), Honda (667), and Kia (653). Yes, theJapanese brands absolutely dominatedonce again. The non-luxury brand industry average was 637 points, and most brands fell below this.

Languishing at the bottom of the non-luxury list were Ram (610), Jeep (609), Chrysler (609), Dodge (608), and Fiat (607). These brands all fall under the Stellantis umbrella, so clearly there is much room for improvement. While we didn't expect Fiat to rank highly with its small US footprint, it's disappointing to see the likes of Ram, Jeep, and Dodge perform so poorly.

In the US category for luxury brands, Lexus ranked first with 749 points, the most for any single brand. The consistency of Lexus in providing its owners with a top-class ownership experience, from the little UX to the exotic LC, is extremely impressive.

Lexus was followed by Infiniti (728), BMW (696), Porsche (681), and Acura (670). The industry average for luxury brands was 608, and the shocker here is that Tesla was by far the poorest-performing brand on 456 points. Tesla's engagement score barely registered at a paltry 3% - perhaps not a great surprise for a company that disbanded its PR department - and it was well below par in terms of sentiment and visibility as well. Elon Musk's company also performed poorly in other major markets like Canada and the UK, so this isn't a US-specific problem.

While Tesla continues to have a loyal fanbase, its reputation has taken a knock several times this year alone. An angry group ofowners in Norway staged a protestafter encountering several issues with their cars, Autopilot has once again made the headlinesfor all the wrong reasons, and some owners have faced security issues with their vehicles. Based on this study's scores, Tesla's failure to adequately engage with customers when issues do crop up is a major obstacle.

For EVs in general, the volume of reviews is climbing as more people make the switch from ICE cars. However, the industry's ongoing supply chain disruptions and consequent low inventory have left buyers frustrated.

Reputation advises brands and their dealerships to take a holistic approach and deliver a great experience for the customer at every touchpoint, not just when they're behind the wheel, to boost their scores.