The most valuable car marque in the world today is BMW. Automotive News reports that BMW has replaced Toyota to take the number one spot in the list of automakers. The study was part of an overall study called the BrandZ Top 100 conducted by Millward Brown research group. The car manufacturers are number 25 and 26 on the list respectively. I suppose Toyota's drop in position was caused by all the controversy caused by its recalls and faults throughout the United States and Europe. Of course somehow Toyota owners in Japan and here in South East Asia do not seem to have any of the problems faced by the people elsewhere. It's a conspiracy I tell you!

According to the study, Toyota's value declined by 27 percent to a shade under US$21.8 billion. Meanwhile, BMW also suffered a drop, mainly due to the recent economic crisis. The BMW drop was less at only nine percent, putting its total value also at $21.8 billion.The researchers at Millward Brown seem to think Toyota should recover from the recall crisis and said that the carmaker's aggressive work to rebuild its reputation should do much to restore the company's global standing. Expect them to retake the position soon.

The recent credit crunch that caused the recent economic crisis had taken its toll on all car manufacturers. Mercedes Benz (number 53 on the list), who basically seem to have a higher standing here in South East Asia, and Porsche (number 65) have suffered. The former saw their brand value drop by 11 percent and the latter by 31 percent. That somehow does not seem to stop all those towkays from buying the latest E-class anyway.

So what is it about the value of a certain brand? Strong brands have the power to create business value. They impact much more than revenues and profit margins. Strong brands create competitive advantages by commanding a price premium and decrease the cost of entry into new markets and categories. They reduce business risk and help attract and retain talented staff. There you have it. A short and concise explanation on the value of a brand and why its supposedly very important. BMW must be doing things right as even with cars that are over-designed to some and nowhere near as ULTIMATE as you'd expect the Ultimate Driving Machine to be. Maybe the Joy of Driving really exists in all those niche marketing vehicles they bring out nowadays.

For those curious about the top three in the list, its Google on top, followed by IBM and then Apple. The list can be found here