BMW has ousted Toyota as the top-ranked automotive brand in the latest ‘Brand Z Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands’ study based on research of more than one million consumers.
Mercedes-Benz was ranked third ahead of Honda, Nissan and Volkswagen.
The report prepared by global research giant Millward Brown noted 10 per cent growth in brand equity by BMW and pointed to supply issues for Toyota and Honda during recent times as a result of the Japanese tsunami and floods in Thailand.
Good news for Toyota though with its brand reputation battered in America by falling consumer confidence as a result of ‘unintended acceleration’ safety concerns which were eventually attributed to driver error rather than manufacturing or design deficiencies.
Apple, IBM and Google lead the overall scores.
