Toyota is still tops all automakers, including Tesla, on the 2020 BrandZ Top 100 Valuable Brands list.
Tesla may have the biggest market cap in the automotive industry right now, but is the value of an carmaker determined by stock price alone? At least one group believes so, and it thinks that Toyota is still No. 1 — and Tesla is No. 4.
Market research company Kantar released the 2020 BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Brands list and the Japanese automaker once again took the top spot with a value of $28.4 billion. That may seem pretty good, but it put the company just into the top half of the list at No. 48.
As it has in recent days and months, Tesla did jump past several competitors, including Ford and Honda and Nissan to grab the fourth spot. Kantar valued the California-based EV maker at $11.35 billion — a 22% increase compared with last year’s result.
(Tesla beats second quarter production expectations.)
Tesla rose to fourth on the 2020 Top 100 Most Valuable Brands list.
Overall, three automakers made the top 100 Most Valuable Brands, starting with Toyota. Mercedes-Benz was next at No. 56 and BMW was 61st. Ford and Honda dropped off the top 100 list in 2018. Brand value is calculated using a formula that includes the brand’s market capitalization and the results of a global public survey into consumer attitudes toward those brands.
Aside from Tesla, all of the top automotive brands lost value last year. Much of that was due to a drop in stock price, according to the company. Auto brands saw a 7.2% drop in their value between 2019 and 2020, the group said.
“Since 2008, the car sector has declined in value and has never recovered,” he said. “It’s very different from other sectors. For example, the luxury sector took a hit but then came back.”
(Tesla tops Toyota as World’s Most Valuable Automaker.)
Overall, the value of the top 10 auto companies on the list has been on the decline, dropping 7.2% during the time of the pandemic. This has also taken the wind out of the sails of EVs, too, Kantar officials believe. Improving demand for electric vehicles will also help with raising the value of automakers.
Honda fell out of the Top 100 list this year.
“Brands that are continuing to invest in more EVs will continue to grow in the future,” Guillaume Saint, Kantar’s global automotive practice lead told Automotive News Europe. “Companies that are dropping value the most are the ones that are most shy about expressing their vision for the future in terms of mobility.”
Tesla’s all-electric line-up helped to drive the company’s rise in value, but the positive perception of the EV maker among consumers went beyond the battery-electric powertrain — they liked the company in other ways. Meanwhile Nissan suffered the biggest drop in value, down 18% to $8.66 billion. Honda was a close second, falling 15% to $9.97 billion.
Automakers may have suffered a bit on this year’s list, sitting well down the ranks. Tech companies have dominated the list, and the top company is likely not a surprise: Amazon. The online retailer retained the top overall spot, seeing its brand value rise 32% to $415.8 billion.
(Toyota sees retail market bouncing back.)
Apple was No. 2 – again – due to a 14% rise in brand value to $352.2 billion. Microsoft passed Google for third courtesy of a 30% jump in brand value to $326.5 billion. Google was fourth with a brand value of approximately $323.6 billion. Visa was No. 5 due to a 5% increase in brand value to $186.8 billion.