View the full Brand Finance Germany 150 report here
With a brand value of €52.4 billion, Mercedes-Benz is the most valuable German brand, closely followed by Deutsche Telekom (brand value up 19% to €51.9 billion). Allianz Group (brand value up 12% to €39.0 billion) is in the third place, knocking Volkswagen (brand value down 12% to €35.4 billion) off the podium. The winner by points in the Brand Strength Index is Porsche (brand value down 1% to €29.1 billion) with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 85.1 out of 100 and a corresponding AAA brand rating.
This year's shooting star is the Sixt brand (brand value up 118% to €1.2 billion), which has more than doubled its brand value and gained 19 ranks to now be in 69th position. In general, it shows that the automotive sector accounts for the lion's share of the value of our top brands, about one third of the total brand value of the German brands in the ranking. Along with the automobile sector, the retail sector is also on the rise, led by Aldi (brand value up 26% to €16.6 billion) in the 8th position and Lidl (brand value up 61% to €15.5 billion) in the 10th position.
Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the world’s biggest brands to the test, and publishes around 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. Germany’s top 150 most valuable and strongest brands are included in the annual Brand Finance Germany 150 ranking.
Ulf-Brün Drechsel, Country Manager DACH, Brand Finance, commented:
“A key factor that stands out is the business models of all the major retail brands are consistently being extended into online retail and mixed and expanded with service offerings such as travel, telecommunications, textiles or financial services. This also pays off in the brand values.”
Porsche is the strongest German brand with AAA brand rating
In addition to brand value, Brand Finance determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. Compliant with ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 100,000 respondents in more than 35 countries and across nearly 30 sectors.
A German car brand also emerges as the winner of the much-regarded Brand Strength Index (BSI). Porsche lands in first place with 85.1 out of 100 in the Brand Strength Index and shows last year's winner Audi the taillights. Audi slips down to 17th place due to a significant points deficit in brand strength.
"The automotive sector remains the most important value generator in the ranking by far and, with a total brand value of €165.1 billion accounts for 30% of the total value volume - even if the sector has lost four per cent in absolute terms compared to the previous year," explains Ulf-Brün Drechsel, Country and Client Service Director DACH at Brand Finance Germany, based in Hamburg.
Retail trade picks up in Germany with Aldi and Lidl ahead of competition
After the automotive industry, the retail sector is also on the rise. The retail sector is picking up strongly and shines with a value increase of 76%. It now accounts for the second largest share in the total brand value of all brands in the ranking, namely 13% valued at €74.5 billion. With Aldi (8th place) and Lidl (10th place), two extraordinarily fast-growing retail brands land in the top 10. At a distance follows the likewise fast-growing retail brand Edeka (22nd place).
"The amazing performance of retail brands can be explained mainly by the Corona crisis. During the pandemic induced constraints, consumer and supermarkets were able to prove their role as social meeting points and reliable suppliers of essential goods, thus also further increasing their brand values," Drechsel emphasises.
Sixt is the fastest growing German brand in the ranking
The international mobility provider Sixt increased its brand value by 118%, making it the fastest-growing German brand in 2022. Thanks to a strong international and consistently customer-oriented growth strategy and the digitalisation of its products, Sixt has increased its brand value enormously. The biggest brand loser is Smart. The German car brand loses 46% of its brand value and thus slips a whole 32 ranks to penultimate place in the Brand Finance Germany 150 2022 ranking.
Germany comes in third place in the Global Soft Power Index 2022 report
The high values of German brands depend not least on the extraordinarily positive perception of the German economy at home and abroad. This assessment is also in line with the results of the Global Soft Power Index 2022 study published by Brand Finance. In this study, Germany ranked first out of 120 nations in the category ‘strong and stable economy’. Overall Germany gained soft power in the second Corona crisis year and placed third in the overall ranking, behind the USA and Great Britain.
The Global Soft Power Index is a fully survey-based annual research study on the influential perception of country brands. Soft power is a special form of exercising power and influence by states. Unlike hard power, soft power is not based on military resources, but on means such as role model function or attractiveness. The Global Soft Power Index records the opinions of over 100,000 respondents worldwide on 120 nation brands.
View the full Brand Finance Germany 150 report here
ENDS
Note to Editors
Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the biggest brands to the test, and publishes nearly 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. Africa’s top 150 most valuable and strongest brands are included in the Brand Finance Germany 150 ranking.
Brand value is understood as the net economic benefit that a brand owner would achieve by licensing the brand in the open market. Brand strength is the efficacy of a brand’s performance on intangible measures relative to its competitors.
The full ranking, additional insights, charts, more information about the methodology, and definitions of key terms are available in the Brand Finance Germany 150 report.
Brand Finance is the world’s leading brand valuation consultancy. Bridging the gap between marketing and finance for more than 25 years, Brand Finance evaluates the strength of brands and quantifies their financial value to help organizations of all kinds make strategic decisions.
Headquartered in London, Brand Finance has offices in over 20 countries, offering services on all continents. Every year, Brand Finance conducts more than 5,000 brand valuations, supported by original market research, and publishes over 100 reports which rank brands across all sectors and countries.
Brand Finance also operates the Global Brand Equity Monitor, conducting original market research annually on over 5,000 brands, surveying more than 150,000 respondents across 38 countries and 31 industry sectors. Combining perceptual data from the Global Brand Equity Monitor with data from its valuation database enables Brand Finance to arm brand leaders with the data and analytics they need to enhance brand and business value.
Brand Finance is a regulated accountancy firm, leading the standardization of the brand valuation industry. Brand Finance was the first to be certified by independent auditors as compliant with both ISO 10668 and ISO 20671 and has received the official endorsement of the Marketing Accountability Standards Board (MASB) in the United States.
