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BrandZ Top 100 2011: SECTORS/COMMENTARY 40CarsThe road aheadclearedMany car brands returned torobust health only a few years afterdisconnecting from the life supportof government funding and autopurchasing schemes such as “cashfor clunkers” or “scrappage.”Consolidation left fewer brands in North America andEurope. But the survivors emerged more customerresponsiveand innovative, serious about meetingenvironmental and safety concerns of citizens andregulators and aware that consumer values, includingperceptions of prestige, have changed.The surviving Western brands probablyare here to stay, and competition isexpected from China and other fastgrowingmarkets. Most Western carproducers looked to China for longtermgrowth as the country’s sales areexpected to reach 30 million units by2015, or about twice the size of theUS car market. Volkswagen remainedChina’s most popular car brand, butothers have set up joint ventures inTOPBRANDSBrand Value$MBrandContributionthe country and at least one Europeanheritage brand, Volvo, is now Chineseowned.Toyota rebounded 11 percent in brand value,demonstrating the resilience of strong brands. Lexusremained America’s top-selling luxury car. To reassure thepublic following the recall of almost 8 million cars witha potential uncontrolled acceleration problem, Toyotaintroduced an extended warranty. A panel of NASAexperts exonerated Toyota in early 2011, finding thatdriver mistakes were responsible for most of the reportedincidents. Toyota increased sales by 8 percent to 8.4million cars worldwide in 2010.Ford reported its highest profit in 10 years, $6.6 billion,and GM showed signs of a strong comeback. Fordenjoyed residual goodwill in the United States forrejecting the government bailout and funding productimprovements with its own capital. Named “Marketerof the Year” by Advertising Age, Ford added a morecontemporary feel to the brand with an effective use ofsocial media, including a launch of its Explorer SUV onFacebook rather than at an auto show. Ford’s brand valuegrew 5 percent.Two electric cars received attention. The Nissan Leafwas named “European Car of the Year.” Motor Trendmagazine named Chevy Volt “Car of the Year” and GreenCar Journal named it “Green Car of the Year.” Even asBrandMomentumBrand ValueChange1 Toyota 24,198 4 7 11%2 BMW 22,425 5 8 3%3 Mercedes 15,344 5 8 12%4 Honda 14,182 3 7 -1%5 Porsche 12,413 5 6 3%6 Nissan 10,072 2 8 17%7 VW 7,408 3 8 6%8 Ford 7,394 2 3 5%9 Audi 3,808 4 8 5%10 Lexus 3,648 4 5 N/ASource: Millward Brown Optimor(including data from BrandZ, Bloomberg and KPMG Industry Reports)CARSUP 7%