BMW Usurps Toyota as Most Valuable Worldwide Auto Brand

Raelene Martin | April 30, 2010

BMW AG has usurped Toyota Motor Corporation as the most valuable automotive brand in the world according to a yearly ranking of top auto brands.

Volkswagen AG and Ford increased the value of their brands, according to a survey known as BrandZ Top 100, which is conducted by Millward Brown, a market research company.

Millward Brown’s global brand director, Peter Walshe, said he thinks Toyota will recover after the carmaker’s huge recall campaign began to hurt its brand value near the end of 2009.

“It is likely that Toyota's brand has suffered further in recent months, but it is a strong brand and is trying hard to overcome the damage through a major communications campaign,” Walshe explained during a phone interview. "All of our evidence shows that strong brands are much more likely to recover from a crisis.”

From 2009-2010, BMW’s brand value fell nine percent to slightly more than $21.8 billion, the study said. During the same period, Toyota’s brand value declined by 29 percent to just under $21.8 billion.

Ford Gets a Technology Boost

The increase in brand value Ford enjoyed was assisted, Walshe said, by the automaker’s investment in high-tech features like the Sync voice-activated electronics system and innovative emissions control. Ford also used social media wisely to its benefit.

“Our studies show that investing in technologies that benefit the consumer pays off,” Walshe added.

Ford increased its brand value by 19 percent to $7 billion.

Volkswagen boosted its brand value by 20 percent to almost $7 billion, and Audi increased by two percent to $3.6 billion.

“Both carmakers are viewed as trustworthy brands with style, global distribution, German engineering, and lower prices than prestige makes such as BMW and Mercedes,” Millward Brown explained in a statement.

Porsche and Mercedes Decline

Luxury automakers suffered a decline in brand values as the economy went south in 2009.

The fourth most valuable auto brand in the world, Mercedes-Benz, saw a brand-value drop of 11 percent to $13.7 billion. Porsche fared even worse with a 31-percent drop in value to $12 billion.

Because of the tough economic conditions in countries like Europe and the United States, the total value of the six auto manufacturers in the top-100 ranking dropped by 15 percent, the largest decline of any market sector.