Toyota has ranked first among automakers in the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study released by market research company Millward Brown. The Japanese carmaker has overtaken last year’s best ranks car manufacturer, BMW.
Toyota’s 2013 brand value rose 12 percent to $24.5 billion (€19.03 billion), mainly due to its significant inroads in the hybrid market, the study said. The Japanese automaker ranked 23rd amongst all brands, while came in behind at No.24. The German carmaker’s brand value lost 2 percent to $24 billion (€18.65 billion)) compared to last year, with the reason for this being the lack of new product launches compared with past years.
BMW was the most valuable auto brand in the 2010 and 2012 rankings, while Toyota held the top spot from 2006 until 2009 and again in 2011. Compared with last year, the value of the Toyota, Mercedes-Benz, Audi and Hyundai brands improved by double-digit percentages, largely because of strong demand in China and the United States.
Mercedes-Benz was the third among auto brands this year (43rd overall), with an 11 percent increase to $18 million in brand value, while Audi saw its brand value rise 18 percent to $5.5 billion thanks to strong demand in the U.S. and China for luxury cars, the study said. Audi didn’t rank in the top 100 brands, however.
The fourth automaker was Honda (71st overall), with its brand value estimated at $12.4 billion, with Nissan coming in 5th (86th overall) at $10.2 billion. VW was 6th (100th overall), with $8.8 billion. Ford, Audi, Hyundai and Lexus completed the top 10 auto brands, but none of them ranked in the Top 100.
For the third consecutive year, the world’s most valuable brand is Apple, with a brand value of $185.1 billion, while Google ($113.7 billion) took second spot and IBM ($112.5 billion) ranked third.
By Dan Mihalascu
Story References: Millward Brown via Autonews
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