Toyota leads contemporaries on Interbrand global ranking

Toyota Motor Corporation joined other seven Japanese firms make it onto the list of the top 100 most valuable brands in the world for 2013 compiled by Interbrand, a United States consultancy firm.

In the recent result, the leading global automaker came in 10th, unchanged from last year, with a value of $35.3 billion, the best showing among Japanese firms in the annual best global brands rankings.

“The brand not only scored well with customers but has led the entire automotive segment nearly every time,” Interbrand said Monday of Toyota, adding that the automaker’s brand value went up 17 percent from last year.

In terms of industry specifics, Toyota led the automotive sector, followed by Mercedes-Benz in 11th place and BMW in 12th, while the other seven Japanese firms include Honda Motor Co., which came in 20th, up one notch from last year.

Mercedes-Benz, BMW and Honda all made the top 20, at 11th, 12th and 20th place, respectively. Hopping a ways down the list, we come across Volkswagen in 34th place, up from 39th in last year’s study, with a brand value of $11.12 billion, a 20-percent improvement over 2012. Ford and Hyundai round out the automakers in the top 50, at 42 and 43.

Porsche made the largest year-over-year gain of any automaker, with its brand value increasing 26 percent to $6.47 billion. Chevrolet cracked the list for the very first time at 89th place. As Interbrand notes, Chevy’s inclusion is notable because of the sheer number of vehicles it moves for General Motors and its recent push in developing markets.

The final interesting note on this survey is the position of an automaker that takes its name and logo more seriously than perhaps any other, that is talking about Ferrari. The Italian exotic manufacturer finished 98th out of 100, with just $4.01 billion in brand value, a six-percent improvement over last year.

The global brands report takes into account the financial performance of the products and services of each brand, as well as their influence over consumers. Finally, the firm looks at a brand’s ability to command a premium – an attribute that helped Apple wend its way to the top of the list.

Interbrand’s best global brands methodology was the first of its kind to become ISO certified. It analyses the many ways a brand benefits an organisation, from delivering on customer expectations to driving economic value.

When determining the top 100 most valuable global brands, the firm examines three key aspects that contribute to a brand’s value: the financial performance of the branded products or service, role the brand plays in influencing consumer choice and the strength that the brand has to command a premium price, or secure earnings for the company.

The year 2013 was considered as a new era of leadership. In addition to identifying the top 100 most valuable global brands, this year’s report also examines the evolving role of leadership as it relates to brands even as Interbrand contends that leadership must now be shared. Chief executive officers, chief marketing officers and consumers all have the power to drive the value of the brands they manage or admire.

In today’s global and social media-obsessed marketplace, brand leaders recognise the need to be highly collaborative, while the top 100 most valuable global brands are unlocking their value by participating, listening, learning, and sharing and not just with leaders from within their organisation, but with consumers too.