Luxury car makers improve in brand rankings

Manufacturers of luxury cars have shot up the rankings of ‘most valuable global brand’, according to a new report published by UK brand value assessors, Brand Finance.

According to the firm’s study, German manufacturer BMW is now the world’s second most successful luxury marque, with a brand value of $21.2 billion.

The European carmaker sits in second place behind leaders Apple’s estimated worth of a staggering $70.6 billion.

Other high-end European luxury manufacturers made it into the global top 10 most valuable luxury brands, too – Daimler came in fifth, beating fashion labels such as Prada and Gucci in the process, with a recorded worth of $4 billion. Rolls-Royce also featured in the recently announced top 10.

Owned by BMW, a 17 per cent improvement on last year took it to 10th place overall. With a predicted value of $3.1 billion, the German manufacturer’s business strategy to begin producing vehicles under the British marque’s name in 2003 has obviously proved successful.

The top performing car manufacturer was Toyota, coming in at 15th position and valued at $24.4 billion, down a place from its $26.1 billion valuation in 2011.

Mercedes-Benz and Mitsubishi both sank to 26th and 27th respectively, down from 20th and 21st position last year, with a value of $19.7 billion and $19.4 billion.

Other notable – and more positive – performers in Brand Finance’s list include European and American automotive giants, Volkswagen and Ford – up to 35th and 36th position this year from 63rd and 40th spots respectively in 2011.

BMW rose one place in the overall standings, up from 23rd last year to 22nd in 2012.