BMW Bags World No. 1 Brand Title

Published: Thursday, May 24, 2012, 14:53 [IST]

Brand image has a great say when it comes to buying a car. German luxury carmaker BMW has been voted the most valuable brand among other auto brands in the world.

The carmaker emerged the top brand in BrandZ Top 100 global survey, conducted by influential market research firm Millward Brown. BMW was voted the top brand by toppling last year's winner, Japan's Toyota to the second position.

According to the survey, BMW’s brand value rose 10 percent over the past 12 months to $24.62 billion while Toyota’s dipped 10 percent to $21.78 billion. Many factors such as natural calamities and safety issues affected Toyota's brand image pushing it to the second spot.

The top ten automotive brands for 2012 in order and value (in billions) are as follows:

1. BMW $24.62
2. Toyota $21.78
3. Mercedes $16.11
4. Honda $12.65
5. Nissan $9.85
6. Volkswagen $8.52
7. Ford $7.03
8. Audi $4.70
9. Hyundai $3.60
10. Lexus $3.39

Meanwhile, luxury brands, in particular Audi, BMW and Mercedes-Benz, have benefited from strong demand in China, the largest new car market. Apple topped the list of the most valuable brand in the world among all categories with a rise of 19 percent in value.

Surprisingly, none of the brands of General Motors, world's number one carmaker in terms of sales, made it to the top 10 list.