Mercedes-Benz Is Now More Valuable Than BMW
New survey shows Mercedes-Benz’ E Class gave them the edge needed over BMW for ‘Most Valuable Brand.’
In the never-ending battle for supremacy between the Teutonic lords of luxury, Mercedes-Benz recently knocked BMW off its perch to take second place in a global survey that ranks brands by their socioeconomic impact.
According to CarBuzz‘s Jay Traugott, the 2018 Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands report by BrandZ, the largest brand equity database in the world since 1998, is an annually updated list that ranks every major global brand in every sector according to their financial value. The list itself shows that every year since 2007, Mercedes has always been ranked behind BMW, having been in third place behind the latter since 2011 until now.
Per the 2018 list, BMW has a value of $25.624 million, while our beloved and newly crowned silver medalist boasts a value of $25.684 million. How did the takeover happen? Automotive News Europe’s Douglas A. Bolduc interviewed Global BrandZ director Peter Walshe on the subject. Walshe says Mercedes bested BMW in global sales in 2016 and 2017 via “its strong performance in China, Brazil and Russia as well as the success of the new E Class.” Meanwhile, BMW, which once held the top spot in 2010 and 2012, “was slowed by its small decline in U.S. sales last year.”
Alas, there’s still one more for Stuttgart to knock off to take the top podium position among the world’s most valuable global automotive brands, one that has been as hard to bring down as the majestic Alps to the south of Germany: Toyota. The Japanese automaker took the gold for the sixth year in a row with a value of $29.987 million, and aside from 2010 and 2012, has held the high ground since 2007. Walshe says this is due to strong demand for its SUVs in Europe and the United States, and its reputation as an “incredibly reliable” brand with “fantastic value and quality.”
There’s always next year, though.
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