Apple might be the world’s most valuable brand and Toyota the most valuable automotive brand, but Ferrari is the most powerful, says the Brand Finance Global 500 list.
The 2014 list of the strongest 500 brands in the world has high-tech companies Apple, Samsung and Google as the three most valuable but rates Ferrari as the world’s power player.
London-based brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance values Ferrari at $US4 billion, putting it 350th on the top 500 list and well behind Apple’s $US105 billion brand value.
But Ferrari was the only carmaker to have a AAA rating, thanks to factors including desirability, loyalty, consumer sentiment and online presence. Indeed Ferrari had the highest overall score of the 11 brands (including Google, Hermes, Coca-Cola, Disney, Rolex and Formula One racing rival Red Bull) to be awarded an AAA brand rating.
“The prancing horse on a yellow badge is instantly recognisable the world over, even where paved roads have yet to reach,” said Brand Finance chief executive David Haigh.
“In its home country and among its many admirers worldwide, Ferrari inspires more than just brand loyalty, more of a cultish, even quasi-religious devotion; its brand power is indisputable.
But “being a niche, luxury brand with an officially capped production, it online casino is perhaps unsurprising that it is some way off being the world”s most valuable.”
Japan’s Toyota was the 11th most valuable brand overall, followed by Germany’s BMW (17), Volkswagen (19) and Mercedes-Benz (26). In automotive brand order they ranked 1, 2, 3, 4.
India’s conglomerate Tata, which owns Jaguar Land Rover, was ranked 34th overall with a brand value of US$21.1b.
The US had the most brands on the list (185), followed by Japan (42), France (37), the UK (35), Germany (32), China (27) and Switzerland (19), among others.
Top 10 automotive brands
| Auto Rank | Overall rank | Brand | Value in US billions |
| 1 | 11 | Toyota | $34.9 |
| 2 | 17 | BMW | $28.9 |
| 3 | 19 | Volkswagen | $27.0 |
| 4 | 26 | Mercedes-Benz | $24.1 |
| 5 | 31 | Honda | $22.1 |
| 6 | 32 | Nissan | $21.1 |
| 7 | 41 | Ford | $20.2 |
| 8 | 52 | Hyundai | $18.8 |
| 9 | 98 | Porsche | $11.3 |
| 10 | 132 | Renault | $9.0 |
Other carmakers in top 500:
Isuzu 434US$3.4b; Volvo 414 US$3.5b; Dongfeng 405 US$3.6b; Lexus 329 US$4.1b; Subaru 325 US$4.2b; Citroen 318 US$4.2b; GMC 314 US$4.3b; Rolls-Royce 303 US$4.4b; Mazda 302 US$4.5b; General Motors 280 US$4.8b; Daimler 262 US$5.0b; Fiat 253 US$5.1b; Suzuki 244 US$5.3b; Kia 241 US$5.3b; Chevrolet 192 US$6.4b; Audi 175 US$7.0b; Peugeot 173 US$7.1b.
• Ferrari reported record profits in 2013, despite selling fewer cars (6922) than the year before (7318). The carmaker made a net profit of US$363 million, up 5.4 per cent on 2012. Revenues rose by 5 per cent in 2013 to US$3.1b. The company also ended 2013 with US$1.87 billion in the bank, its highest cash position ever.
• Go to http://brandirectory.com/league_tables/table/global-500-2014