Xinhua Silk Road: Ecosystem and sustainability redefine global automotive brand value: report

BEIJING, Feb. 2, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Ecosystem capabilities and sustainability have emerged as the new core metrics for automotive brand value, according to the 2025 AutoVision Global Automotive Brand Value Evaluation Report released in Vienna, Austria on Saturday.

The report highlights a structural evolution in brand evaluation standards as the global automotive industry undergoes deep transformation toward electrification and intelligence. "Ecosystem building capacity" and "long-term sustainable competitiveness" have replaced market scale as the decisive factors for a brand's future standing.

According to the report, Toyota Group reclaimed the global top spot through hybrid and sustainable advantages, followed by Volkswagen. China's BYD surged to third, marking the first time a Chinese brand entered the world's top three. Overall, Chinese automakers secured a record 10 spots in the Top 30, including newcomers Great Wall Motor and Dongfeng, while Tesla continued leading EV innovation.

"The core shift in this year's evaluation system lies in the increased weighting of ecosystem and sustainability," said Alexander V. Kammel, founder and chairman of AutoVision Awards. He pointed out that the assessment has fully considered the impact on product paradigms caused by the overlapping of electrification, intelligence, supply chain restructuring, geopolitical volatility, and rising trade protectionism within the global automotive industry.

Leading automotive brands are moving beyond traditional manufacturing to build open ecosystems that integrate energy, data, software, and services, the report showed. A significant positive correlation was found between brand value growth and substantive investments in the circular economy, carbon neutrality, and social responsibility.

The assessment model also systematically incorporated performance on global social platforms including TikTok, Instagram, and Weibo to more accurately reflect brand health and user engagement in the digital age.

The industry has entered a stage of systematic competition, the report's lead analyst stated, adding that isolated technical breakthroughs or short-term sales leads are no longer sufficient to maintain long-term advantages. Future success will belong to companies that can align products, technology, and sustainability commitments with a clear global brand vision.

Established in 1993, AutoVision Awards is an independent global automotive evaluation and strategic insight institution. The 2025 report utilized a dynamic evaluation framework based on public financial data, market performance, innovation indices, ESG performance, and professional consumer surveys.

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