Brand Finance has released its annual report on the world’s most value automobile brands.
The company calculates the values of the brands in its league tables using what it calls the “Royalty Relief approach.” Basically, the approach estimates the likely future sales that are attributable to a brand and calculating a royalty rate that would be charged for the use of the brand. For example, what the owner would have to pay for use of the brand, assuming it wasn’t already owned.
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A total of 100 companies are ranked and here are the top 10 most valuable auto brands for 2017 according to Brand Finance.
10. Chevrolet
Valued at $11.5 billion is Chevrolet. The American automaker actually dropped one spot to 10 this year, despite having its brand value rise from $8.9 billion.
9. Porsche
Porsche jumped nine spots from 18th place in 2016 with a current brand value of $12.4 billion. Last year, the German automaker was valued at $4.5 billion.
8. Audi
Audi remained consistent at eighth place, but also saw a nice increase in brand value. This year, the German automaker is valued at $12.5 billion compared to last year’s $9.8 billion value.
7. Honda
Honda dropped two spots to seventh place this year with a value of $21.3 billion. Last year, Brand Finance valued Honda at $19.3 billion.
6. Ford
American automaker Ford saw its value increase from $19.8 billion to $22.4, but its dropped two spots to sixth place in 2017.
5. Nissan
Nissan improved to fifth place from seventh last year and is valued at $24.8 billion compared to $17.8 billion in 2016.
4. Volkswagen
Volkswagen’s brand is growing strongly, increasing 32 percent this year to $25 billion. Last year, the German automaker was valued at $18.9 billion. The Volkswagen Group recently topped Toyota in sales despite having to recover from a controversial diesel scandal.
3. Mercedes-Benz
The top three automakers on the list all kept their same spots as last year, with Mercedes coming in third once again. Valued at $35.5 billion, the German automaker saw a bump from $32 billion.
2. BMW
The gap between BMW and Mercedes-Benz in Brand Finance’s valuations is getting more narrow. Last year, BMW was valued at $35 billion and this year it’s valued at $37.1 billion.
1. Toyota
Despite the Volkswagen Group selling more vehicles than Toyota last year, the Japanese automaker is the most valuable auto brand in the world. Its value increased from $43 billion to $46.3 billion. “Toyota has once again reinforced its status as the world’s most valuable auto brand,” Brand Finance said in its report. “Profitability remains strong and, at the date of valuation, most recently reported revenues were up 32% on the same period last year. Toyota was recently overtaken by Volkswagen as the biggest auto manufacturer by unit volume. Toyota sold 10,175,000 units in 2016 to Volkswagen’s 10,213,486. However, Volkswagen’s sales are split between multiple brands including VW, Audi, Lamborghini, Skoda, SEAT, Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti and Ducati motorcycles. Toyota’s production is much more concentrated around the core brand, with Hino, Lexus, Daihatsu and Ranz making up a relatively small proportion of the total. For this reason, the value of the Toyota brand remains nearly double that of VW’s.”
