Toyota topped a list of 12 car companies in the top 100 best global brands listed by Interbrand.
Kia entered the list for the first time at 87 with a brand valuation of US$4.1bn. Its parent company Hyundai was 53rd, with a brand valuation of $7.4bn, a 24% improvement. Mercedes-Benz ($30bn, up 10%) and BMW ($29bn, up 18%) were 11th and 12th.
Toyota was 10th, up one place over its position in 2011 with its brand valuation improved by 9% to over $30bn.
The most valuable brand was Coca-Cola (up 8% at $77.8bn), followed by Apple (up 129% at $76.5bn) and IBM (up 8% at $75.5bn)
Interbrand’s annual Best Global Brands study measures a company’s financial performance in terms of financial return to investors and the role the brand plays in the purchase decision and brand strength which is the ability of a brand to secure the delivery of expected future earnings.
