As the line between tech companies and car makers blurs, those with a tech-first focus are gaining an advantage over traditional car brands.
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Tesla and a series of Chinese marques have topped a new list highlighting the brands offering the best technology in the car industry.
The Gartner Digital Automaker Index 2025 flags a number of established brands as falling behind when it comes to software utilisation.
At the top of the list, Tesla holds the number one spot for its third year in a row, while Chinese brand Nio took second place and Xiaomi entered the list at number three.
Xiaomi, better known for its smartphones and tech products in Australia, hadn’t even begun vehicle production when the index was first released, only officially launching its first production car in March 2024.
At the bottom spots on the list, established brands like Jaguar Land Rover (JLR), Mazda, and Renault took the bottom three positions, with Renault showing the biggest slide with a 32 per cent lower score than last year.
Hyundai/Kia made the biggest year-on-year improvement with a 33 per cent improvement on last year’s index, but still only enough to rank them in tenth place on the index.
Stellantis registered a 29 per cent improvement, and General Motors saw a 16 per cent improvement.
Gartner analyses the performance of 24 automakers across eight criteria, going beyond just infotainment systems and looking at the integration and implementation of software across all vehicle systems, connected vehicle technologies, and the experience and growth plans brands have in place for their tech-dependent divisions.
Tesla took the top spot in the index's culture and leadership scoring and online presence, and tied for top spot on electric vehicle architectures.
Nio, Rivian, and Xiaomi shared the tie for vehicle architectures.
Geely came out on top for connected vehicle tech, Xiaomi was the frontrunner of autonomous driving, along with the tech experience and talent sections.
In 2025, Chinese brands held five spots in the top ten, with Xpeng, Li Auto and Geely also making it into the top ten.
Like Xiaomi, Li Auto and Geely made their first appearance on the index in 2025.
In terms of scoring, top-ranked Tesla was given a 79.3 per cent score against the assessed criteria, tenth-ranked Hyundai Kia sat at 45.5 per cent, while last placed JLR managed 23.4 per cent.
Both Chinese and US automakers saw overall improvements in their combined scores.
Chinese brands as a whole climbed from 49 per cent to 53 per cent compared to 2024, while US brands moved from 49 to 50 per cent.
European brands recorded their worst result yet, dropping one per cent to 33 per cent in 2025.
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Kez Casey migrated from behind spare parts counters to writing about cars over ten years ago. Raised by a family of automotive workers, Kez grew up in workshops and panel shops before making the switch to reviews and road tests for The Motor Report, Drive and CarAdvice.
