Study says Toyota world’s most valuable automotive brand
April 24, 2009 by Matt Brogan
Toyota has moved into the top 10 of the world’s leading 500 brands, according to a study by international consultancy firm Brand Finance.
The Global 500 report said Toyota retained its status as the world’s most valuable automotive brand as well as being the premier Asian brand.
“Despite the global slowdown of vehicle sales, Toyota continued to invest in the design and manufacturing of environmentally friendly hybrid vehicles,” the Global 500 report said.
Toyota’s brand value, the measure of the brand’s financial strength, was calculated at US$22 billion – lifting it from 13th to 10th place in the Global 500.
Toyota’s brand rating was lifted from AA to AAA. The rating is based on a benchmarking study of the strength, risk and future potential of a brand relative to its competitors.
The report, which was released this week, said the value of the top 500 global brands fell by 24 per cent last year, or US$707 billion, due to the financial crisis.
It said it was “an achievement” in the current climate that Toyota’s brand value fell only 16 per cent.
The second-ranked car manufacturer, BMW, had a brand value of US$13.7 billion, down more than 20 per cent from US$17.2 billion.
In Australia, Toyota is the top-selling automotive brand and has led the sales charts for the past six years in a row.
In 2008, the company sold an all-time industry record of 238,983 vehicles in Australia – more than 100,000 ahead of its nearest rival.
Toyota manufactures more cars in this country than any other company. Last year’s production tally exceeded 141,000 cars, of which more than 100,000 were exported – an Australian record.
The leading Australian-based companies were Woolworths (ranked 143) and Telstra (163), moving ahead of the National Australia Bank (256).
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Troubling economic times have hit many companies – especially carmakers – hard, tarnishing brand image and decreasing confidence in their fitness for the future. Toyota seems to have escaped untouched, however, with two recent surveys naming it the most respected company in the world and the most trusted automotive brand in Australia.
A comprehensive survey by New York-based private research and consulting firm Reputation Institute took stock of over 1,000 companies’ brand images, evaluating respondents’ perceptions of trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling to determine the final result. Ranking as the only automobile manufacturer with a score of more than 80 – placing it in the top tier of all manufacturers – Toyota also finished first in five of seven categories overall, earning it the title of World’s Most Respected company.
The product is the driving force, though volume sales pose risks
Strong consumer perceptions of quality and value along with safety and reliability put the Toyota brand at the top of the charts. The way the company stands behind its products also influenced the results, showing that not only consumers, but the company itself, has confidence in the cars produced.op automotive brand in Australia, and not just in sales
According to a survey by Australian Reader’s Digest, Toyota ranks as the most trusted brand in Australia as well. That trust is given ample evidence by the actions of the Australian buying public.
The strong June market, and the record first six months of 2008, saw Toyota set several records for overall sales volume, putting it over 11 market share points ahead of closest rival, Holden. Total vehicle sales in June cleared 25,000 for the first time ever for any vehicle manufacturer in Australia’s history. Toyota also set a fiscal year record, selling over 247,500 vehicles, the first time any carmaker has broken the 200,000 mark.
It’s clear that on the raw numbers alone, Australians have been voting Toyota the number one brand in Australia for quite some time.
Toyota Camry
Top Ten Best Selling Vehicles of 2008
436,617 Units Sold: Toyota, and specifically the midsize Camry sedan, has a well-earned reputation of providing transportation for the masses of Americans that just want to get from one place to another with a reasonable amount of style and a great deal of reliability. Those virtues were enough to earn the Camry some 436,617 sales, making it the best-selling passenger car in America.
For nine of the last 10 years the best-selling passenger car in America has been Camry, and Toyota marketers and engineers are taking no chances that it will suffer the same fate as Taurus.
Increased competition from Korean as well as Japanese and U.S. automakers really sliced up the midsize car pie in the last decade, but Camry continues to set the pace.
Lexus Earns Best-Selling Luxury Brand Title for Sixth Consecutive Year
Surpasses 300,000 Sales in Record-Breaking Year
TORRANCE, Calif., Jan. 4 — Lexus surpassed 300,000 in annual sales for the first time ever in 2005, retaining the crown as American’s No. 1-selling luxury brand for the sixth consecutive year. Total U.S. sales came to a best-ever 302,895, up 5.5 percent from 287,927 in 2004.
Since its inception in 1989, Lexus has enjoyed steady growth and expanded business, success the company attributes to its devotion to the pursuit of perfection and its total focus on the customer experience.
“At Lexus, we believe that the ultimate success is a satisfied and loyal customer,” said Bob Carter, Lexus group vice president and general manager. “Our business model is based on treating every customer like a guest in our own home, which means providing the highest quality of attention and care at every level: from design conception to dealership and from purchase to service. This, more than any number, is our goal at all times.”
The 300,000-unit milestone has been achieved only on three other occasions, by Cadillac, in the mid 1980s. Since that time, no other luxury nameplate has been able to reach this sales pinnacle, even in a thriving auto market.
Sales of Lexus passenger cars achieved all-time record-breaking results with 151,226 units, an increase of 11.5 percent over 2004. The Lexus flagship LS 430 premium luxury sedan continues to be the segment leader with sales of 26,043 units. The all-new GS mid-luxury sport sedans and IS entry-luxury sports sedans contributed heavily to the record year. The GS 300/430 achieved best-ever year-end combined sales of 33,457 units. The GS 300 recorded best-ever monthly sales of 2,973 units, an increase of 305 percent, while the GS 430 posted sales of 458 units, an increase of 349 percent. The all new IS entry-luxury sport sedans, which debuted in October, enjoyed a best-ever overall combined sales month of 4,518 units, an increase of 573.3 percent over the same period last year. The IS 250 reported sales of 2,887 units, while the 306-hp IS 350 enjoyed sales of 1,631 units.
Lexus luxury utility vehicles enjoyed a banner sales year, up 0.2 percent at 151,669 units. The RX 330 was the luxury utility vehicle sales leader in 2005 with 108,775 combined units sold, an increase of 2.4 percent over the same period a year ago. It was the second year in row for the RX to reach 100,000 units in annual sales. The RX 400h, the world’s first hybrid-luxury vehicle introduced in April, earned sales of 20,674 units in 2005. The GX 470 mid-size luxury utility vehicle recorded a best-ever sales month in December of 4,599 units, a 4.4 percent increase over 2004.
In addition to record-breaking new-vehicle sales, Lexus Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) vehicle sales hit all-time record highs in 2005. Lexus CPO sales of 45,998 for the year were up 5.3 percent over 2004 calendar year totals. For the fourth year in a row, Lexus Certified Pre-Owned (CPO) Vehicles ranked first in customer satisfaction in the 2005 J.D. Power and Associates Used Vehicles Sales and Certification Study (UVSC).
Well-recognized for the excellence of its vehicles, Lexus has topped J.D. Power and Associates Vehicle Dependability Study (VDS) for 11 years running. 2005 marks the fifth consecutive year with Lexus as the top-ranked nameplate in the association’s Initial Quality Study (IQS), making a clean sweep of five individual segment awards. The SC 430 topped the entire study, as well as the premium luxury car segment with the LS 430 in second. In the APEAL Study, Lexus had the highest number of models at the top of their respective segments: the GS 300/430, RX400h, LS 430 and IS 300/IS 300 SportCross. Lexus also ranked number one in the J.D. Power and Associates 2005 Customer Retention Study(SM), gaining 3.5 percentage points from 2004 to take the lead in 2005 by retaining 63.0 percent of its customers. The industry average was 49.6 percent.
“Our bottom line is not a dollar figure, it is an experience — the customer experience,” Carter explained. “In recent years we have worked to expand that customer base by delivering the industry’s first luxury hybrid SUV as well as by continuing to improve upon already proven and loved vehicles.”
Lexus’ focus on progress is reflected in the performance and innovation of the all-new IS and GS luxury sedans. The brand continues to make strides in multiple arenas with its ongoing dedication to expanding hybrid technology into other models. Design is critically important as well, with a whole new design direction leading the way towards vehicles that appeal as much to the eye and the senses as they do the driving connoisseur.
“We started out to be the best,” Carter said. “We never imagined we would be the biggest. Lexus is about providing our customers the best possible experience. One that we know will keep getting better and better.”
The Corolla is a line of subcompact/compact cars produced by the Japanese automaker Toyota, which has become very popular throughout the world since the nameplate was first introduced in 1966. In 1997, the Corolla became the best selling nameplate in the world, with over 35 million sold as of 2007.[1] Over the past 40 years, one Corolla car has been sold on average every 40 seconds.[2] The modern Corolla shares only the name with the first generation car, as the series has undergone several major redesigns. The current North American Corolla is priced and sized in between the Yaris and the Camry.
How Toyota Defies Gravity
Its secret is its legendary production system. Though competitors have been trying to copy it for years, nobody makes it work as well as Toyota.
Alex Taylor III
Reporter Associate Jeremy Kahn
Fortune Magazine
Two days a month, more than 50 automotive executives and engineers travel to a sprawling manufacturing complex in Georgetown, Ky., to learn how Toyota makes cars. The tours, which include an intensive question-and-answer session, last five hours and are booked months in advance. Although the visitors all work for competing automakers, Toyota charges them no money and places nothing off limits. Lately Ford and Chrysler technicians have been regular visitors to one of the two assembly lines, while General Motors personnel have demonstrated a particular interest in the powertrain operations.
Toyota flies
Toyota’s showing the opposition how it makes cars is a bit like Coke’s giving Pepsi a peek at its secret syrup formula. The Toyota Production System on display at Georgetown applies not just to manufacturing but also to almost everything Toyota does, from product development to supplier relations and distribution. But Toyota officials don’t mind. Deep down, they know that the TPS techniques that visitors see on their tours–the kanban cards, andon cords, and quality circles–represent the surface of TPS but not its soul. Toyota isn’t worried about giving away any important secrets on a plant tour.
That may sound arrogant, but the evidence supports the conviction: Despite years of imitation, nobody has succeeded in displacing Toyota as the world’s most proficient auto company. Mercedes-Benz may dazzle with its sophisticated engineering, Honda with its engine technology, and Chrysler with its styling. But Toyota sets the standard in efficiency, productivity, and quality. GM officials say Toyota is the benchmark in manufacturing and product development. A high executive at BMW whispers that, national pride notwithstanding, he regards Toyota as the best car company in the world.
you have to give credit where credit is due.thank you.
Yep Australia’s fav choice for first car is Holden,hows that for credit,you just dont get it do you SOB.
Once again you have gone off on another tangent SOB disregarding what the conversation was about cause you lost.
Your the king of cut and paste though.
waiting now for the commodore only sells to fleet rant from SOB :))
Car Enthusiast Says:
April 27th, 2009 at 8:51 pm
Naughtyius Maximus, before u start saying any more, quick question when u buy a car from a Manufacturer, do u buy every car that Manufacturer sells or just the car u are looking to buy.
NM response………I dont support one car maker. If your a regular you would “CLEARLY” know that! I would plump for an i30 ahead of others, a Fiesta ahead of others, a Mazda 6 ahead of others and Falcon ahead of others. Iam referring to overall that Toyota appeals over a wide range but lacks some soul and class…but still enough to outsell others!