BMW voted most valuable car brand. Where does your car rank?
BMW grabbed the top spot as the world's most valuable car brand in the BrandZ Top 100 Global survey, edging out Toyota. BMW brand value has risen 10 percent over the past year.
A logo of BMW is pictured on a car before the German luxury carmaker BMW annual shareholders meeting at the company's headquarters in Munich in this May 2012 photo. BMW was ranked the most valuable car brand in the BrandZ Top 100 global survey
Guido Krzikowski/Reuters/File
Brand value can be a fickle thing. It鈥檚 impossible to measure accurately and it can be affected by numerous volatile factors.
聽However, at the end of the day, if a consumer is willing to pay more for one brand over another then brand value becomes a vital indicator of a company鈥檚 overall value.
聽Nowhere is this more apparent than in the auto industry, where a consumer鈥檚 perception of a brand can often be the main decisive factor when it comes to buying a new car.
聽One of the best indicators of how valuable each brand is compared to its rivals is the annual BrandZ Top 100 global survey, conducted by influential market research firm Millward Brown.
聽For the automotive category, managed to reclaim the top ranking in 2012 after losing it to last year. According to the results, BMW鈥檚 brand value rose 10 percent over the past 12 months to $24.62 billion while Toyota鈥檚 dipped 10 percent to $21.78 billion.
聽Researchers pointed out that supply chain globalization and just-in-time inventories hurt Japanese automakers due to shipment delays after the flooding and Fukushima nuclear accident in Japan and flooding in Thailand last year.
聽At the same time, luxury brands, in particular , BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have benefited from strong demand in China. The country remains the world鈥檚 largest new car market and a critical volume-driver for many brands such as those mentioned.
聽Interestingly, despite GM being the number one automaker in the world in terms of sales, none of its brands made the top 10 list. As for the most valuable brand in the world, that title goes to Apple whose value rose 19 percent in the past year to $183 billion or about 37 percent of its current market capitalization.
聽The top ten automotive brands for 2012 in order and value (in billions) are as follows:
聽1. BMW $24.62
聽2. Toyota $21.78
聽3. Mercedes $16.11
听4. Honda $12.65
听5. Nissan $9.85
听6. Volkswagen $8.52
听7. Ford $7.03
聽8. Audi $4.70
听9. $3.60
听10. $3.39