BMW constantly tries to make their cars more powerful with turbochargers, but the company just became more powerful in a different way. A recent study conducted by Millward Brown shows that BMW has passed Toyota to become the most powerful automobile brand. They estimate the BMW brand is worth $24.63 billion. BMW is now the number one luxury car maker in the world, and it also has the most valuable brand. That’s a pretty good one-two punch.
Toyota falls second to BMW by roughly $3 billion. Toyota and most other Japanese car companies were hurt by the earthquake and the Fukishima Nuclear accident. These disasters caused shipment delays, and crippled supply chains.
Figuring out the worth of a brand is a tough job. Some people say it is even to subjective to gage. However, Millward Brown claims they can do it. To figure out brand worth, Millward Brown conducted over two million surveys in greater than 30 countries. They also added in the earnings from branded products, and the power the brand has on the company’s bottom line.
Other notable outcomes of the survey are Hyundai being the first Korean car company to make the top ten ranking at number 9, and Ford is the only American company that made the cut at number 7.
Rankings in $Billions
1. BMW 24.63
2. Toyota 21.79
3. Mercedes 16.11
4. Honda 12.64
5. Nissan 9.85
6. VW 8.51
7. Ford 7.02
8. Audi 4.70
9. Hyundai 3.59
10. Lexus 3.39
