If you're getting around in a Toyota with a set of Bridgestone tyres, you're driving the world's most valuable set of wheels.
That is according to brand valuation consultancy firm Brand Finance. The firm has its annual Brand Finance Auto 100 survey, which ranks companies based on the royalties a corporation would have to pay to license its brand if it were not the owner.
According to its sums, Toyota has bolstered its status as the world’s most valuable auto brand, beating the luxury German marques. Toyota’s brand is now worth US $34.9 billion ahead of BMW (US$29bn), Volkswagen (US$27bn) and Mercedes-Benz (US$24.2bn), said Brand Finance.
Looking ahead, Toyota must negotiate the potential pothole of a 1.9 million unit recall of its Hybrid Prius model and the resulting loss of consumer confidence.
But Toyota has swiftly bounced back from similar challenges in recent years, suggesting that Toyota’s brand is resilient enough to see it through the latest issue, said the report's authors.
Most valuable brand should not be confused with most powerful brand. That again is claimed by Ferrari, which is not only the most powerful brand in the auto industry but the most important in any industry said the firm.
Brand Finance awarded Ferrari a AAA+ brand rating and noted its latest branding collaboration with Apple via the‘CarPlay’ system, which integrates a user’s iPhone into an onboard display, as a formidable brand power marriage.
Unsurprisingly, German, Japanese and American owned brands dominate the table, accounting for 74% of the total US$388 billion brand value.
Overall, the auto industry performed strongly last year, thanks to a combination of global economic recovery and increased demand in both the United States and Asia, while locally, new car sales broke records.
Closely tied with the fortunes of the car industry is the tyre industry, with Bridgestone being named the world’s most valuable tyre brand.
See how all the brands ranked here.
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