The Automotive Industry Report has found German automaker Mercedes Benz to be the most valuable in the world for the third year in a row, worth an estimated $65 billion.
Published by the independent consultancy firm Brand Finance, the report estimates Mercedes Benz’s value had increased 8% from the previous year. Amongst the reasons cited for the highest valuation was their investment in electric and autonomous vehicles.
“Mercedes-Benz has stayed one step ahead of its competitors because of its commitment to service and model development. Despite his departure, Dieter Zetsche has set the brand up for long-term success,” Brand Finance’s director, Alex Haigh, said.
This is despite the fact they have delayed the North American release of their first electric SUV, the Mercedes Benz EQC, after selling just 55 units in hometown Germany in 2019.
Tesla, one automaker with actual, record-selling electric vehicles on the market today, almost made the top-10 list of valuable automakers. They made it into the 12th, and were found to be the automaker with the fastest increase in value, rising 65% to $12.4 billion.
The biggest reason for the increase was thanks to the opening of Giga Shanghai last year, which according to the report puts Tesla in a great position to capture a large share of the world’s largest EV market.
The report also found that electrification is the biggest trend found this year, with electric automakers seeing the fastest growth, and almost all other major automakers dipping their toes into EVs.
The 10 most valuable car brands, according to Brand Finance
- Mercedes-Benz – $65.04 billion
- Toyota – $58.07 billion
- Volkswagen – $44.89 billion
- BMW – $40.48 billion
- Porsche – $33.91 billion
- Honda – $33.10 billion
- Ford – $18.51 billion
- Nissan – $17.92 billion
- Audi – $16.97 billion
- Volvo – $16.91 billion
