Cars and Drivers

Why Ferrari Is the World’s Most Powerful Auto Brand

Chris Lange

Published: February 24, 2017 3:35 pm

Last Updated: January 12, 2020 2:31 pm

In the auto world there is a lot to be said for having a strong reliable brand, especially in an age when people are continuing to grow more dependent on their cars. One firm took this into account along with other factors such as marketing investment, familiarity, loyalty, staff satisfaction, and corporate reputation and compiled a list of the corresponding auto brands. According to a recent survey by Brand Finance, Ferrari took the top spot as the world’s most powerful auto brand.

Ferrari is the world’s most powerful auto brand and notably it is among the top 10 strongest brands for any industry. Ferrari’s brand strength has improved by three points this year to 92, leading to an upgrading of its brand rating to the maximum AAA+ designation.

What is impressive is that the strength of Ferrari’s brand is all the more commendable given its increasingly commercial approach and improving revenues. Ferrari came public in mid-October 2015, raising $893 million in the IPO and valuing the company at up to $9.5 billion at that time. Currently the company has a market cap of $12.3 billion.

David Haigh, CEO Brand Finance, commented:

The fact Ferrari has boosted revenues without compromising brand strength suggests that it has found the perfect formula to sustainably exploit brand equity to maximize shareholder value.

In terms of the most valuable brand, Toyota takes the top spot in the auto industry with its brand value increasing by 7% to $46.3 billion in 2017. Its profitability remains strong and, when this survey was conducted, most recently reported revenues were up 32% on the same period last year.

However, Toyota was recently overtaken by Volkswagen AG as the biggest auto manufacturer by unit volume (Toyota sold 10,175,000 units in 2016 to Volkswagen AG’s 10,213,486) but Volkswagen’s sales are split between multiple brands including VW, Audi, Lamborghini, Skoda, SEAT, Porsche, Bentley, Bugatti and Ducati motorcycles.