Best brand rankings: Why Toyota is a global automotive powerhouse in 2026

In a year when global brand performance was shaped by economic pressure, rising prices, and shifting consumer expectations, one automotive brand stood apart. Toyota ranked 10th in YouGov’s Best Brand Rankings 2026, making it the only car brand to appear in the global top ten. In a category which typically has strong domestic loyalties, Toyota’s presence as a top ten global brand is an exception to the norm.

Using data from YouGov BrandIndex, a closer look shows that Toyota’s position is not driven by a single standout market or metric. Instead, it reflects consistent strength across markets – and the measures that underpin brand health, from Impression and Quality to Recommend and Consideration.

Looking at Toyota’s global average brand health, the brand performs strongly across the individual components that make up YouGov’s Index score. Toyota records strong results on Impression (40.4) and Quality (40.5), alongside solid scores for Reputation (30.8) and Recommend (34.2). Performance on Value (30.9) and Satisfaction (17.1) further indicates that this strength extends beyond initial perceptions into how consumers evaluate and experience the brand.

BrandIndex data covering January 1 to December 31, 2025, shows Toyota ranking as the top auto brand in a number of markets we track. In Australia, the brand’s Index score is nearly double that of the next closest competitor. A similarly wide gap appears in Japan and Saudi Arabia, where Toyota also tops the category.

Leadership also shows up in several European and North American markets, though often by narrower margins shaped by strong domestic preferences. In Italy, Toyota ranks first, edging out BMW, Mercedes-Benz, and Audi in a tightly clustered field. In Spain, it again takes the top position, ahead of a group dominated by German brands. In the United States, a market with historically strong domestic loyalties, Toyota ranks as the top auto brand, with a score of 42.1, ahead of Chevrolet and Ford. Even in Germany, where local manufacturers traditionally dominate, Toyota places firmly within the top tier, competing closely with Audi, BMW, and Mercedes-Benz. Together, these results place Toyota among the category leaders in markets with very different competitive dynamics.

Elsewhere, Toyota remains firmly within the top tier. It is tied for first place in France and ranks second in Indonesia, in a market led by a motorcycle brand. Across these markets, the pattern is consistent: Toyota may not lead everywhere, but it rarely falls out of the leading group.

Methodology: YouGov BrandIndex collects data on thousands of brands every day. Based on over six million consumer surveys in 28 markets, rankings are based on brands’ Index scores between January 1st, 2025, and December 31st, 2025. To qualify for YouGov’s global brand rankings, brands must be tracked in a minimum of 10 of the 28 markets analyzed in total. Brands must have a minimum sample size of 300 to be included. For a brand to qualify as a top 10 brand, it must have scores available for at least 6 months (183 days). All scores are rounded to one decimal place. If brands have the same rounded score, rank is determined by differences beyond the first decimal place. Market-level analyses are based on Index scores in the indicated market.