UPDATED · News · 19 Apr 2012 · Car Deal Expert Editorial Team
Originally published 2012-04-19. This article is part of the CarDealExpert historical archive — see our latest UK car-finance, insurance and used-car coverage in the menu above.
BMW tops all automakers in the BrandsZ Top 100
In the annual BrandZ Top 100 survey conducted by market research company Millward Brown, BMW has moved into the lead when it comes to the most valuable auto brands worldwide. The number one slot was previously held by Toyota Motor Corp., but Toyota’s recent trouble with mechanical failure and design flaws has knocked it back into the number two automotive slot (26 among all corporate brands). While Millward Brown Global Brand Director Peter Walshe believes Toyota will bounce back next year on the BrandsZ Top 100, BMW AG will enjoy its position for as long as possible. Despite a 9 percent value decline from 2009, BMW’s brand power was more than enough to secure top honors among world automakers. By contrast, Toyota’s brand value dropped a whopping 27 percent over the same period.
BMW rules, despite Ford’s high climb
Ford (19 percent) and Volkswagen (20 percent) both experienced a tremendous increase in brand value on the BrandsZ Top 100. Walshe attributes Ford’s success to technological innovations like voice-controlled systems, improved emission control and a strong social media presence. Volkswagen and Audi (2 percent increase) are “viewed as trustworthy brands with style, global distribution, German engineering and lower prices than prestige,” according to a Millward Brown press release.
Toyota isn’t the only automotive brand that suffered
Luxury automotive brands like Mercedes-Benz (11 percent) and Porsche (31 percent) also took significant brand value hits, which is part of why the combined value of the six automakers that made BrandsZ Top 100 is down 15 percent overall. That decrease was the largest noted in any sector, likely indicative of negative perception associated with government bailouts and large vehicle recalls.
The top 10 most valuable auto brands in the world
Millward Brown’s BrandsZ Top 100 is based on more than 1 million global consumer interviews and business performance analysis extrapolated from Bloomberg and Datamonitor data. Google leads the Top 100 brands at $114 billion, while IBM ($86 billion) and Apple ($83 billion) follow. Here are the top 10 most valuable auto brands on the list (value in billions of dollars; top 100 rank in parenthesis):
- BMW $21.82— (25)
- Toyota $21.77 – (26)
- Honda $14.30 – (46)
- Mercedes $13.74 – (53)
- Porsche $12.02 – (65)
- Nissan $8.61 – (86)
- Ford $7.04 – (did not rank)
- VW $6.99
- Audi $3.62
- Renault $3.26
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