Toyota speeds ahead of BMW and Volkswagen

TOYOTA has solidified its status as the world’s most valuable auto brand, according to the annual Brand Finance Auto 100 study released on Tuesday by brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance. Toyota’s brand is now worth $34.9 billion after an impressive 34% growth, to race ahead of BMW ($29 billion) and Volkswagen ($27 billion).

As the world’s biggest auto brands showcase their latest creations at the Geneva Motor Show beginning Wednesday, Brand Finance put to them to the test to determine which are the most powerful and most valuable.

Notable among these is Audi, whose brand value is up 30% to $7 billion and whose fortunes will rest on its newly released TT. Brands valued for the first time include Maserati ($693 million), which presented its Alfieri coupe concept; Lamborghini ($677 million) which unveiled the Huracan to replace the outgoing Gallardo; and Tesla ($1.2 billion), whose share price is soaring as it forges a reputation as perhaps the only credible electric car brand.

Ferrari is again the world's most powerful auto brand, in fact the most powerful brand from any industry. It scores highly on a wide variety of measures on Brand Finance’s Brand Strength Index, from desirability, loyalty and consumer sentiment to visual identity, online presence and employee satisfaction. The exceptional AAA+ brand rating has been preserved thanks to the strategic decision to cap production at 7000, maintaining the brand’s exclusivity. As a result, despite a 4% fall in production last year, brand value rose 12% to $4 billion.

Ferrari’s latest branding coup is the launch of Apple’s ‘CarPlay’ system, which integrates a user’s iPhone into an onboard display. This collaboration between Apple, the world’s most valuable brand (worth $105 billion) and Ferrari, the world’s most powerful, could be the start of the ultimate brand partnership. CarPlay will also be integrated into the XC90 SUV from Volvo ($3.5 billion) and in the C-Class from Mercedes- Benz ($24 billion).

View the complete Brand Finance Auto 100

Overall, the auto industry performed strongly last year, thanks to a combination of global economic recovery and increased demand in both the United States and Asia. The brand value of the top 50 brands rose by $55 billion to $346 billion, and the gross margins of the five biggest manufacturers are the highest they have been for 10 years.
Brand Finance chief executive David Haigh commented, “The increasing market share of the biggest manufacturers coupled with a trend for joint ventures and alliances has resulted in vehicles that are mechanically more homogeneous. Consequently, brand will play an increasingly important role in shaping consumer preference over the coming years, not just for the likes of Ferrari, Lamborghini or Porsche but for mass market manufacturers too.”

Unsurprisingly, German, Japanese and American-owned brands dominate the table, accounting for 74% of the total $388-billion brand value. France and Italy’s share of brand ownership is increasingly threatened by rising Asian manufacturers based in India, South Korea and CAdidas Yeezy