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Tesla's brand value up nearly 200 per cent, closing gap on Toyota, Benz: report

The California-based electric automaker does barely any advertising, but is still building a sterling reputation, says Interbrand

Coleman Molnar
Oct 21, 2021  •  October 21, 2021  •  1 minute read  •  Join the conversation
SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk poses on the red carpet of the Axel Springer Award 2020 on December 01, 2020 in Berlin, Germany.
SpaceX owner and Tesla CEO Elon Musk poses on the red carpet of the Axel Springer Award 2020 on December 01, 2020 in Berlin, Germany. Photo by Britta Pedersen /Getty

Toyota is the seventh most valuable brand in the world, and the most valuable automotive brand, according to Interbrand’s 2021 Best Global Brands (BGB) Report, having increased in value by five per cent over the last year. 

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But despite the brand’s high ranking (the same position it held on last year’s BGB ), Toyota’s good news is being slightly overshadowed by the enormous progress of another. Because down the page at number 14, up 26 positions and an impressive 187 per cent in value versus the average of 10 per cent, is that EV brand that barely does any advertising but that people are always talking about: Tesla. 

The EV maker didn’t even make the top 100 in 2018 or 2019, but shot up to no. 40 last year and continued its rise over the last few quarters as well. 

Mercedes-Benz in eighth position; and BMW in 12th are the only other two car brands to be ranked ahead of Tesla. And with Tesla’s meteoric behaviour, these leading brands are no doubt looking over their shoulder. 

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“Direction, Agility and Participation are three key themes we’ve seen driving brand growth over the past year. Perhaps unsurprisingly, given the constantly evolving business landscape, employee buy-in, adapting to change and a strong customer base have helped certain brands to thrive,” commented Charles Trevail, Global CEO or Interbrand, in a release. “It’s worth calling out Tesla’s growth over the past year — a three-figure increase in brand value is unprecedented in the past 22 years of Best Global Brands.”

Interbrand is an advertising industry consultancy that ranks the value of international brands across all industries annually based on financial performance and perceived value. The list this year was dominated by tech companies, with Apple, Amazon, Microsoft, Google, and Samsung making up the top five in that order. 

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