Kia Crashes Top 100 Brands Party, Toyota In Top 10, MB And BMW Closing Fast

Kia has shoved its way into Interbrand's annual Top 100 Best Global Brands list, debuting this year in 87th place.

Interbrand pegs Kia's estimated brand value at US$4.1 billion, marking a 50 percent increase over 2011 and smashing the 11 percent average growth across automotive brands on the 2012 list.

Toyota remains the only automotive brand in the top 10 however, where it is lead by the likes of Samsung, McDonald's, Google, Apple and, at number one, Coca Cola. 

Hot on Toyota's tail are the German giants Mercedes-Benz and BMW. While Toyota's brand value is ranked at US$30.2 billion, Mercedes is close at US$30b, and BMW follows with US$29b.

Toyota's position is an improvement on its 11th place ranking last year, while Mercedes-Benz and BMW have moved up from 12th and 15th.

Toyota compatriot Honda ranked 21 - falling from 19th - and Volkswagen climbed from 47th place to 39.

VW luxury marque Audi sits well behind its main German rivals in 55th spot, although this marks an improvement from 59th in 2011.