Toyota world’s most respected company

Scoring 86.53 out of 100 in a survey conducted by New York-based private research and consulting firm Reputation Institute, the Big T came out as number one amongst the world's top 1,000 companies on perceptions of trust, esteem, admiration and good feeling.

No other car company was listed in the top 30. Volvo came in at 32nd, Honda 39th, BMW 88th and Daimler 99th.

Google came in behind Toyota which also led from Swedish furniture retailer IKEA and Italian chocolate-maker Ferrero.

In a more local study, Australian Reader's Digest has also reported that Toyota is the most trusted automotive brand in the country. Mercedes-Benz came in second, followed by BMW, Holden, Honda and Mazda. Mitsubishi came in last (no doubt affected by its Adelaide plant closure).