BMW replaces Toyota as most valuable brand

BMW has replaced Toyota as the world's most valuable car brand, according to an annual survey commissioned by communications services group WPP.

Toyota topped the car sector of the survey in 2011, but its brand value fell by ten percent in the past 12 months, whereas BMW's has risen by the same amount. The Bavarian manufacturer's rise was aided by record sales growth around the globe, as was fellow German marque Volkswagen, which enjoyed a 15 percent increase in its brand value and moved into the overall Top 100 of BrandZ's Most Valuable Global Brands.

Toyota retained its position as one of the world's best brands, but lost its top place in the ranking in the aftermath of the earthquake, tsunami and nuclear disasters that affected all Japanese carmakers last year.

The disasters in Japan last year also negatively affected the brand-value rankings of Honda, Nissan and Lexus, but all three remained in the top 10.

Hyundai continued its global rise by breaking into the top ten of the survey's car brand sector for the first time. The report noted that luxury cars may have experienced a negative impact from the rise in car quality overall. Because of generally improved performance, attention to design and the availability of sophisticated technology, factors that usually define luxury were available more broadly and less expensively.

All of the car brands were dwarfed by technology firm Apple, which topped the survey for the second year in succession. Apple's worth was valued at $182.9 billion and technology and communications firms dominate the upper echelons of the list, whereas BMW came in at number 23.

The BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands survey, which is conducted by research company Millward Brown Optimor and is now in its seventh year, identifies and ranks the world's most valuable brands by their dollar value, an analysis based on financial data, market intelligence and consumer measures of brand equity.

BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Car Brands 2012