Who is the world's most reputable carmaker?

Toyota may be the world's most valuable automotive company, but a new survey has found BMW to be the most reputable carmaker.

A survey last month saw a combination of buyer feedback and "dollar value" put Toyota in the top spot.

However, BMW claimed first place among its carmaking peers - and fourth overall - in the New York-based Reputation Institute's 2011 Global RepTrak 100 Study.

The RepTrak 100 are drawn from the 1000 biggest names across the globe, using consumer feedback from around the world to determine which companies have the best reputations in the market.

The results were drawn from calculations of four emotional indicators: trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling.

The study also analysed the 'seven dimensions of corporate reputation,' which focus on the perception of the company as a corporate citizen compared to consumer opinion on the company's products and services.

"The results of the Global RepTrak 100 Study confirm that, when evaluating companies, consumers and investors are aligned,” Reputation Institute Chairman, Dr Charles Fombrun said.

“The greater the reputation of a company, the more support it earns from consumers, the better its operating performance, and the more money investors are willing to pay for its shares. This is a key feature of the emerging Reputation Economy we now live in.”

In the top 10, BMW trailed Google, Apple and The Walt Disney Company, but placed ahead of LEGO, Sony, Daimler, Canon, Intel and Volkswagen.

Toyota, pipping second-place BMW by a cool $2 billion in BrandZ's survey last month, placed a very distant 60th in the Reputation Institute's survey.

While Daimler and Volkswagen managed to hold seventh and 10th - making for a Germany-dominated list - the closest carmakers outside the top 10 were Honda (29), Toyota (60), Nissan (61) and Suzuki (63).