THE WORLD’S MOST VALUABLE AUTOMOTIVE BRAND IS TOYOTYA

Toyota retained the top spot as the most valuable automotive brand in the BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report 2015. Toyota’s brand was valued at $28.9 billion (approx. R375 billion) and maintains its top 30 position in the all-sector ranking.

In the 10 years since the BrandZ™ report was first published. Toyota has been crowned brand value leader in the automotive sector eight times, and second on two occasions.According to the report, although automotive sales improved in some regions, they remained below pre-recession levels in others, adversely impacting overall brand values. In contrast, global sales for Toyota in 2014 increased by 2.5 per cent to 10.2 million units, which contributed to the company’s brand valuation in this year’s report.

The report details some of the challenges faced by the auto sector, including the increasing difficulty that auto makers face in differentiating their product ranges, and the waning interest in car ownership from the ‘millennials’ (Generation Y) consumer group.

The BrandZ™ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report, commissioned by WPP and conducted by Millward Brown Optimor, surveys some two million consumers in more than 30 countries.

Kerry Roodt, General Manager of Marketing Communications for Toyota South Africa, is very excited about Toyota’s latest accolade: “For me as a marketer the fact that Toyota, as the world’s foremost automotive brand, is making a difference to the way people live is the best reward. Knowing that we stand out as different from the rest and that we’re getting our message across in a clear and consistent manner is very reassuring indeed. But it’s significant in another way too, it highlights the fact that the brand that puts its customers first, will win. That’s something we at Toyota have really striven hard to do – give consumers something that they really need, give them the service they deserve…and they’ll stay smiling.”