Toyota Tops Carmakers For Brand Value, Hyundai Hits Top 40: Interbrand

For the 11th straight year, Japanese giant Toyota has been named the world’s most valuable automotive brand.

Ranked by Interbrand, an arm of advertising giant Omnicom Group, the annual list is based on brands’ financial performance, influence on customer choice, and price and earning strength.

Locking in 8th place on the 2014 100 Most Valuable Brands list, Toyota’s 2014 results have also seen it move up two places since last year.

Replacing Toyota in 10th place is Mercedes-Benz, entering as the only other carmaker in the top 10 and the highest-ranking premium brand on the list.

BMW is right behind the tri-star brand at number 11, however, with both German marques moving up one spot each in the past year.

The next ‘most valuable’ brand according to Interbrand data is Honda at 20, followed by Volkswagen at 31 and Hyundai at 40, improving its place by three positions to reach its highest position yet.

Hyundai’s charge up the ladder follows its sales and market growth over the past decade. In 2005, the Korean brand was ranked 84th with a ‘brand value’ of US$3.5 billion.

This year marks its first time in the top 40 and its first time achieving a two-digit brand value: $US10.4 billion. The giant-slayer has a ways to go, however, with Toyota’s brand value listed at US$42.4 billion.

We could see Hyundai overtake 39th-placed Ford in the near future, however, with the American giant listing a brand value of US$10.9 billion.

Other auto brands in Interbrand’s top 100 global brands for 2014 include Audi at 45, Nissan at 56, Porsche at 60, Kia at 74 and Chevrolet at 82.

Land Rover is a new entrant for 2014 at number 91, replacing the previously 98th-placed Ferrari which has fallen off the list this year.

Surprising no one, the overall leader is tech giant Apple, with a 2014 brand value of US$118.8 billion.

There was little change inside the top 10, in fact, with Google (2), Coca-Cola (3), IBM (4), Microsoft (5) and GE (6) all maintaining their top positions.

Samsung moved up from 8th to 7th place, while McDonald’s fell from 7th to 9th - opening the door to Toyota’s new position at number 8.

Automotive Brand Rankings

Rank (Auto)	Brand	Brand Value (US$ billion)	2014 Rank (total)
	Y-o-Y
1	Toyota	42.4	19.9%	8
2	Mercedes	34.3	7.6%	10
3	BMW	34.2	7.5%	11
4	Honda	21.7	17.2%	20
5	VW	13.7	23.3%	31
6	Ford	10.9	18.5%	39
7	Hyundai	10.4	15.6%	40
8	Audi	9.8	26.6%	45
9	Nissan	7.6	22.9%	56
10	Porsche	7.2	10.8%	60
11	Kia	5.4	14.6%	74
12	Chevrolet	5.0	10.0%	82
13	Land Rover	4.5	new	91

See the full list at Interbrand.com (opens in new window).