Toyota defended its title as the world’s most valuable car brand in a new ranking, holding off BMW and Mercedes-Benz. Tesla, meanwhile, made the biggest improvement, rising two spots to No. 8 because of a 32 percent increase in its brand value.

Toyota’s brand value decreased 3 percent to $28.7 billion as increased sales were offset by tough currency challenges as well as increased investment and rising labor costs, according to the BrandZ Top 100 Most Valuable Global Brands study released by market researcher Kantar Millward Brown.

“Toyota is seen as a reliable, quality value brand,” Peter Walshe, Global BrandZ director at Kantar Millward Brown, told Automotive News Europe. “Even when it was going through its recall problems, the users were saying, ‘What’s all the fuss about, my car is fine.’ Toyota has delivered great value for years.”

Toyota has been No. 1 in 10 of the 12 years the study has been conducted.

 

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