Japanese automakers dominate Consumer Reports' ranking of the most reliable car brands, with Toyota Motor Corp.'s Lexus leading the list of 29 brands, according to the results released Wednesday by the U.S. magazine.
The luxury Lexus nameplate rose from the No. 2 spot in the previous year, with all of its models for which sufficient data were available rated average or above, the report said.
Toyota's namesake brand was ranked second, down from first, with its Prius C named the most reliable model.
Lexus and Toyota occupied the top two spots for the sixth consecutive year, the magazine said.
Fellow Japanese carmaker Mazda Motor Corp.'s Mazda brand moved up nine spots to third place thanks to the increased reliability of its MX-5 sports model, the magazine said.
Subaru Corp.'s Subaru brand was fourth, up two places, followed by Kia made by South Korea's Kia Motor Corp. at fifth, down two spots, and Nissan Motor Co.'s Infiniti brand at sixth, up one spot.
Honda Motor Co.'s Honda nameplate slipped to 15th from ninth the previous year, partly due to lost ground in the reliability rating of its Clarity line.
The latest Annual Auto Survey collected data on more than 500,000 vehicles from Car Report's members, according to the magazine.