Toyota, Mercedes and BMW are top auto brands in global ranking

Interbrand released its list of the 100 most valuable brands in the world, and the automotive marque that emerged as the top ranking brand in its sector is none other than…Toyota! This makes it the tenth consecutive ‘win’ for the Japanese automaker. Interbrand evaluated global brands based on three criteria: the development of the brand; the management of the brand; and the brand’s financial performance (if you like details, go here). Toyota was assessed to have a brand value worth US$42.39 billion, which is a 20% increase and far higher than the auto marque that came in second, Mercedes-Benz, with a value of US$34.338 billion; rounding up the top five are BMW, Honda and Volkswagen.

Toyota’s dominance in green-energy vehicles has a big part to play in keeping the Japanese automaker at the top, particularly with the best-selling Prius which is now synonymous with environmentally-friendly personal vehicle and is the hybrid of choice, especially in North America.

The automaker that should be patting itself on the back is Audi, as record sales and the built-up hype of its autonomous driving technology have catapulted the German carmaker into eighth place. Audi is the highest riser of all brands in the auto industry, with a 27% increase in brand value to US$9.831 billion. Autonomous driving, self-driving, driver-assist…whatever you call it, it is what the world is excited about, and Audi has managed to drive itself into the middle of the buzz. According to Interbrand, BMW’s, VW’s and Nissan’s association with autonomous driving technology has also had positive effects on their brands, thus, if you are an automaker and have limited advertising funds, you should now know what trumpets to blow and what horns to toot.

The other German automaker, Volkswagen, is also another top riser, with a 23% increase to an estimated US$13.716 billion brand value.

Land Rover makes its debut on the list at 91st place, earning this new accolade with arguably the best financial performance in its history, which is a 15% increase in sales in 2013. Meanwhile, Ferrari, which tottered in 98th place last year, has fallen off the list.

The top automotive brands in the list are:

1. Toyota (eighth, overall)
2. Mercedes-Benz (10th, overall)
3. BMW (11th, overall)
4. Honda (20th, overall)
5. Volkswagen
6. Ford
7. Hyundai
8. Audi
9. Nissan
10. Porsche

What are the non-auto brands that came out on top? Well, Coca-Cola occupies third place, runner-up is Google, and the victor should come as no surprise - the company which product this article was typed out on...good ol’ Apple. 

image: toyotanation.com