The Presidio Group’s Midyear 2025 Dealer Direction Survey names Toyota the most desirable franchise and finds U.S. dealers remain upbeat about dealership profitability and values despite growing concerns over tariffs on imported vehicles.

Toyota and Lexus hold the No. 1 and 2 spots for a fourth straight survey with scores of 9.37 and 8.67, respectively. Honda (8.3), Subaru (7.99) and BMW (7.22) round out the top five. The lowest ranked brands are Infiniti (2.37), Chrysler Dodge Jeep Ram (3.1) and Volvo (3.13).

The majority (72%) of respondents say they expect dealership profitability to “stay the same or improve” over the next 12 months while 28% expect profitability to trend downward; 75% expect the value of their dealerships to grow in the same timeframe.

Tariffs and the cost they add to vehicles built or assembled outside the U.S. have tempered dealer sentiment toward the political environment: Nearly one-third (32%) said they are more pessimistic than they were shortly following the 2024 presidential election.

The results dovetail with Cox Automotive’s Q2 Dealer Sentiment Index report, which charted growing pessimism among the U.S. dealer body despite heavy traffic and strong sales.

“Once tariffs and economic uncertainty [is] absorbed, consumers will be more willing to purchase new vehicles,” writes one dealer who responded to the Presidio survey. “Better new vehicles on the way will also stimulate sales. More [units in operation] will result in more labor and parts sales for fixed operations.”

Read the full report at The Presidio Group