German auto brands gain ground

Posted by Warc News on 12 March 2014

LONDON: Although Japanese automaker Toyota has retained its status as the world's most valuable auto brand, the latest industry brand valuation data shows that German manufacturers are making solid progress and luxury brands are performing especially well.

Toyota topped the Brand Finance Auto 100 report for the second consecutive year after recording annual growth of 34% to take its brand valuation to $34.9bn.

But Brand Finance, the valuation consultancy, also upgraded Audi's brand value by 30% to $7bn and rated BMW as the world's second most valuable auto brand, worth $29bn – equivalent to a rise of 20% since 2013, Luxury Daily reported.

Other German automakers also performed well with Mercedes-Benz retaining fourth place with a valuation of $24.1bn while Porsche maintained its eighth position with a valuation of $11.3bn.

Volkswagen, however, slipped to third place with a valuation of £27bn even though it too recorded impressive growth of close to 20% over the year.

Released to coincide with the 2014 Geneva International Motor Show, the study also noted strong growth for luxury brands and ranked Land Rover at 20, Lexus at 25, Ferrari at 26, Bentley at 44 and Rolls-Royce at 68 with Lamborghini making its first appearance on the list at 76.

Ferrari once again emerged as the world's most powerful auto brand after achieving the unique distinction of being assigned AAA+ status, according to the report's assessment of its desirability, consumer loyalty and other values.

Brand Finance noted that the super-premium Italian brand had preserved its image of exclusivity having made the strategic decision to cap production at 7,000 vehicles a year. Its brand value rose by about 8% to $4bn.

"Luxury brands are some of the most likely to succeed in 2014," observed Brand Finance's Robert Haigh, who also noted the success of Jaguar and Land Rover in developing markets and the US.

However, despite the success of identifiably "British" brands built on the strength of the UK's automotive technology sector, the study also noted that none of the world's top 100 auto brands are British-owned.

Data sourced from Brand Finance, Luxury Daily; additional content by Warc staff

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