To stay competitive in this rapidly changing global market, carmakers have little choice but to continually innovate. In its 2026 ranking, Chinese automaker BYD took the top spot for innovation, while German OEMs Volkswagen Group and Mercedes-Benz Group took second and third place. Another Chinese brand, Xpeng, ranked fourth, while BMW rounded out the top five. Only one American brand and one Japanese brand made appearances in the top ten most innovative brands overall. That represents an improvement for Toyota compared to the institution's 2025 rankings, but a drop for GM, which took sixth place last year.