Toyota Remains World’s Most Valuable Car Brand, Study Shows

You can rank automakers by a variety of metrics – sales, profits, social media followers, etc. However, while these multinational global conglomerates employ hundreds of thousands of people around the world, they still have to market themselves to consumers as a brand, and not every car brand is created equal. A new study from market researcher Kantar Millward Brown called BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2019 has Toyota coming out on top as the most valuable automotive brand for the year. Mercedes and BMW round-out the top three.

However, when stacked against the other 100 companies, automakers did not fare so well. Out of the top ten automakers, only the top three ranked in the top 100 – Toyota at 41, Mercedes at 54 and BMW at 55 with all three falling in their 2018 rankings. The other seven automakers in the top ten include Honda, Ford, Nissan, Tesla, Audi, Volkswagen, and Porsche. Only VW was able to improve its position as it rebuilds its brand after the devastating Dieselgate scandal. Porsche, new to the list, ousted India's Maruti-Suzuki.

Today, companies like Amazon, Apple, and Google dominate the global top 100 list. These brands provide the customer with extensive services, which is one area automakers are trying to expand into with programs such as ride- and car-sharing. However, they are struggling by comparison in the rankings. Other companies that outperformed the top three automakers included Spectrum, Mastercard, UPS, and many more.

Companies today have to market through a variety of mediums in hopes of reaching every customer possible. You have Brands and Influencers and Campaigns across TV, radio, movies, and the internet. If there's an island of consumers, companies are racing to reach them in hopes of discovering fresh profits much as early explorers raced across the Atlantic from Europe to the Americas. In this competitive marketing landscape, brand identity and its recognition are more important than ever.