Toyota has reclaimed top spot as the most valuable automotive brand in
the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands 2013 report.
Toyota's brand value surged by 12 per cent to US$24.5 billion (A$24.97
billion) over the past year, one of the biggest movers in the automotive
sector.
In the eight years since the BrandZ™ report was first published in 2006,
Toyota has been crowned brand value leader in the automotive sector six
times, and second on two separate occasions.
Toyota Motor Corporation's global sales in 2012 rose 22.6 per cent to
9.75 million units*, which contributed positively towards the company's
brand valuation in this year's report.
The BrandZ™ research aligns with the results of two other studies by
international consultancies Brand Finance and Interbrand that have rated
Toyota as the world's most valuable automotive brand.
BrandZ™ suggests that brand value developments in the sector were shaped
in part by the growth of customer affinity towards hybrid vehicles.
Since Toyota pioneered the world's first mass-produced full hybrid
vehicle in 1997 - Toyota Prius - sales of Toyota and Lexus hybrid models
have exceeded five million globally.
Customers in Australia can choose from eight Toyota and Lexus hybrid
models: the locally built Camry Hybrid and the fully imported Prius,
Prius c, Prius v and Lexus CT 200h, GS 450h, RX 450h and LS 600h.
Lexus retains its 10th position in the list of most valuable automotive
brands with a brand value of US$3.5 billion (A$3.6 billion).
The BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report, commissioned by
marketing communications group WPP and conducted by Millward Brown
Optimor, surveys two million consumers in more than 30 countries.
Courtesy of House of Japan
