Toyota overtakes BMW to regain most valuable brand title

A latest study of BrandZ Top 10 by Millward Brown researchers have found Toyota to be the most valuable automotive brand in the world with an estimated value of $24.5 billion, a gain of 12 per cent on last year’s result.

BMW, which has held the top spot since 2010, has been relegated to second, with its value coming in at $24 billion, a drop of 2 percent on last year.

Toyota’s strong gain was said to be brought about by increasing interest in hybrid vehicles while BMW’s image was tarnished slightly by its performance in the slumping European market.
Interestingly, only four other automakers made it into the BrandZ Top 100 global survey this year: Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen.

Apple, which has been the top ranking brand since 2011, is once again on top, with an estimated brand value of $185 billion.

For the study, brand value is essentially the sum of all earnings that a company’s brand alone is expected to generate. It is calculated based on information from surveyed consumers, who are asked to judge a brand based on attributes that are important to them.

Source: autos.yahoo.com