Mercedes still top of the automotive superbrands

The 12th annual top 500 UK Superbrands survey has just been published and you might expect automotive brands to have a poor showing this year and on the whole you’d be right but the results did throw up some surprises.

The survey defines a “Superbrand” as having established “the finest reputation in its field”.

Such a brand is deemed to offer “significant emotional and/or tangible advantages over other brands, which customers want and recognize”.

The brands are judged against the following three factors:

Quality. Does the brand represent quality products and services?

Reliability. Can the brand be trusted to deliver consistently against its promises and maintain product and service standards at all customer touch points?

Distinction. Is the brand not only well known in its sector but suitably differentiated from its competitors? Does it have a personality and values that make it unique within its market place?

So how did the car manufacturers do? Well Mercedes Benz maintained their presence in the top ten and title of the UK’s top automotive superbrand but have dropped 3 places from last year’s position of 3. BMW have dropped out of the top ten altogether and find themselves this year at number 16, from last year’s position of 7. Jaguar has slipped from 13 to 21 and then it’s a big jump to the next car brand with Audi popping up at 82 (from 76 last year). Toyota and Mini have, somewhat surprisingly, disappeared altogether (315 and 424 last year respectively) and VW, which didn’t figure at all last year (another surprise), is in at 316.

The only automotive brand to have improved on last year’s positions is Alfa Romeo at 257 (from 273). Quite why that should be we’re not sure but we assume the reputation of Alfa Romeo must be improving fast for which they must be delighted. Interestingly Generl Motors only brand in the top 500 is the soon to be offloaded Saab which drops down from 280 to 354.

Following is the UK Automotive “Superbrands” in full.