BMW Most Valuable Auto Brand, Says BrandsZ Top 100

AutoNews.com reports that BMW is now the most valuable of automotive brands worldwide, based upon a strong showing on the Millward Brown BrandsZ Top 100 survey. 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). Peter Walshe, the global brand director at Millward Brown, expects the setback for powerhouse Toyota to be only temporary. BMW moved into the top slot despite a nine percent decrease from the previous year. A 27 percent drop could mean that Toyota’s trouble won’t vanish in a single year, however.

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. For Ford, Walshe is certain that their recent technological advancements (voice control, improved emission-handling and social media triumphs) were responsible for the increased showing. Along with Audi, VW made a fine showing because they are “viewed as trustworthy brands with style, global distribution, German engineering and lower prices than prestige.”

Toyota isn’t the only automotive brand that suffered

Brands like Mercedes-Benz and Porsche also dropped significantly, which comes as no surprise when one considers that the top six automakers on the BrandsZ Top 100 took a 15 percent nosedive as a whole. 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

A measure of consumer opinion and corporate performance, the Millward Brown’s BrandsZ Top 100 survey is based heavily upon international consumer reviews and financials kept by Bloomberg and Datamonitor. Overall, Google stands atop the list with $ 114 billion in brand value, while IBM ($ 86 billion) and Apple ($ 83 billion) round out the tech trio. Take a look at where the top 10 automakers in terms of brand value place on the BrandsZ Top 100: