A new survey has revealed some of the world’s most iconic automotive brands are struggling to keep up with the pace of the Electric Vehicle revolution in the eyes of car buyers. 

The global poll of 2,373 in-market new car buyers by the SKIM Group, a global insights agency, assessed the perception of car makers' ability to survive the shift to electrified powertrains as the combustion engine era comes to an end.

The rankings suggest that faith in some iconic car brands is languishing behind rivals. Toyota was the only marque over twenty years old that made it into the top 10, with big names like Peugeot, MINI and Renault sitting at the bottom of the pile. 

Electric-only brands perform strongly, particularly those from China or with Chinese-backing, thanks to their ability to offer competitive pricing and leading technology. However, older manufacturers from Europe are judged to be struggling the most.

North American car makers are assessed as being split between the new, Californian brands doing extremely well, like Rivian and Tesla, whilst historic Detroit names like Cadillac, Chevrolet and Ford perform poorly. One in five new car buyers surveyed thought that Cadillac may no longer exist by 2030. 

Unsurprisingly, disruptors like Tesla top the league table of ‘new’ entrants into the market, with a positive perception score of 70%. Almost two out of three (60%) car buyers who are considering an EV for the first time believe that Tesla will ‘do extremely well’ by 2030.

Tesla tops the list overall, but missed out on the top spot of the Success Score league table, as trail-blazer BYD placed joint first with newcomer NIO, with 69% of car buyers believing they are the best-placed brands to be a success by 2030. XPeng finished just ahead of Musk’s brand in third place (62%). These brands are virtually unknown in the UK but are big sellers in China and are heading to Britain in the next few years.

Buyers think BYD is set for success globally