Millennials aspire to luxury car brands, Harris Poll finds

Millennials aspire to luxury car brands, Harris Poll finds

Millennials may not be as indifferent to American car culture as is often suggested. Their aspirations for luxury are driving the U.S. automotive brand landscape, according to new research from the Harris Poll. Respondents to the survey were asked to rate a total of 40 randomly selected brands.

In this yearês study, Mercedes-Benz reclaimed the Luxury Automotive Brand of the Year honor from Lexus. Toyota maintained the Nonluxury Auto Brand of the Year for the third straight year. Mercedesê and Toyotaês equity scores rank in the top 25 percent of all brands measured, across industries.

–While maybe not a full-blown romance, the flirtation with cars as part of our culture is alive and well with younger generations,” said Joan Sinopoli, vice president of brand solutions at the Harris Poll. –Millennials aspire to luxury, and this is nowhere more evident than in the automotive industry, where they are behind Mercedes-Benzês equity strength.”

Seven of the top 10 millennial car brands are luxury brands, versus five each for Generation X (born between millennials and baby boomers) and baby boomers. Across all age groups, the top luxury car brands are Mercedes, BMW and Genesis. The top nonluxury brands are Toyota, Honda and Chevrolet.