Toyota overtakes BMW as most valuable global car brand

Toyota's brand value jumped 11 percent to $24.2 billion in the BrandZ Top 100 annual ranking of the world's most valuable brands, overtaking BMW, which was No. 1 last year in the automotive category.

The ranking, whose 2011 results were released today, were compiled by the research company Millward Brown.

Peter Walshe, Millward Brown global brand director, said Toyota's recall had not dented consumers' confidence in the carmaker. "It was a highly trusted brand before the recall and the company was always going to bounce back if it acted responsibly, which it did. It shows the resilience of the brand," Walshe told Automotive News Europe.

Toyota had been the most valuable auto brand every year from 2006 until 2009.

Mercedes-Benz moved to the No. 3 spot in the automotive category, overtaking Honda, after its brand value increased by 12 percent.

Nissan's 17 percent rise in brand value was helped by the marketing buzz created by the Leaf electric car, Walshe said. "Nissan is positioning itself as a green leader and its stance is paying off. It has also realized it is a challenger brand in most markets, so it is doing things differently in terms of its new models," he said.

The 2011 Top 100 ranking is led by Apple, which has a brand value of $153 billion. Apple this year took the top spot from last year's No. 1, Google, whose brand is valued at $111 billion.

Millward Brown measures brand equity based on interviews with more than 1 million consumers globally and an analysis of the financial and business performance of each company using data from Bloomberg and Datamonitor.

Toyota: North America output to hit 70 percent of pre-quake levels by end of June

Toyota Motor Corp. said today that it expects to restore North American production to about 70 percent of normal levels by the end of June — two months earlier than had been anticipated.

The automaker said output of eight North American-made Toyota models — Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, Sequoia, Sienna and Venza — is also expected to return to normal levels by the end of June.

Hobbled by parts shortages and logistics woes following Japan's March 11 earthquake, Toyota's North American plants have been operating at 30 percent of capacity for several weeks.

After the latest adjustment, the company said it expects its North American operations will be able operate at 70 percent of normal levels at least through July. It expects all North American production to return to normal levels by year end.

Toyota and its U.S. dealers are bracing for inventory shortages as a result of the earthquake, notably models such as the Prius hybrid and most of the Lexus lineup that are made only in Japan.

In part because of supply chain problems, Toyota's U.S. sales are up only 9 percent through April, vs. an overall market that has climbed 20 percent.

At the beginning of May, Toyota's U.S. inventory stood at 261,200 Scion, Lexus and Toyota models, according to the Automotive News Data Center. That is down from 329,500 units in stock on April 1.

"Our team members and suppliers are working closely on countermeasure activities to improve the parts condition from Japan," Steve St. Angelo, Toyota's executive vice president for North American production, said in a statement. "We continue to develop solutions in order to restore 100 percent production as soon as possible for all of our North American-made vehicles."

Since April 26, Toyota's North American plants have suspended production on Mondays and Fridays and have operated at half production on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays because of parts shortages.

Plants where the Avalon, Camry, Corolla, Highlander, Matrix, Sequoia, Sienna and Venza are produced are expected to return to normal production levels next month, with two production shifts five days per week.

Toyota said Tacoma, Tundra, RAV-4 and Lexus RX 350 output in North America will remain at their current reduced production levels.

Earlier today, Toyota President President Akio Toyoda said that the company's global production is expected to return to 70 percent of pre-quake levels in June.

"Our efforts at production normalization are progressing faster than announced," Toyoda said. "We are now confident that our vehicle production will recover to about 70 percent of our normal production volume on a worldwide basis from June."

Toyoda said three weeks ago that Toyota's domestic plants would start to bounce back in June, while its overseas plants beginning to increase production in August.

Additionally, the company has narrowed its list of at-risk parts to 30 from 150 last month.

Right now is a great time to get in the driver's seat of a new Toyota.

 

The Toyota National Clearance Event is going on now until August 2, which means you can get an exciting offer on many new Toyota models, including the Camry, Prius and Tacoma. And because we know how important safety is to you, every new Toyota vehicle comes standard with our Star Safety System™.

 

You'll also receive a free maintenance package2 when you buy or lease your new Toyota.

 

The Toyota National Clearance Event is only for a limited time, so hurry in to your local dealer.

Toyota Motor Corp. is winning the trade-in wars.

 

Nearly 58 percent of the buyers trading in a Toyota, stuck with the brand when they purchased a new vehicle in the first quarter, according to auto information company Edmunds.com.