Korean Media: Close to Catching Up with Kia, BYD Enters the Top 100 Global Brands for the First Time!

On November 18, South Korean media outlet "Herald Economy" published an article stating that the global automotive brand landscape is rapidly reorganizing. Chinese electric vehicle manufacturer BYD, which has captured the global market with its "cost-effectiveness," has entered the top 100 global brands for the first time. Chinese electric vehicle companies that were unknown just a few years ago are now able to compete with traditional South Korean internal combustion engine giants like Kia, posing a serious challenge to established automakers.

Besides this, BYD has also surpassed Kia on the "Top 100 Global Companies" list by the American weekly magazine "Time," consolidating its position as a global automobile manufacturer. Although the evaluation criteria differ, both surveys show the same trend: the rapid growth of BYD.

According to the "2025 Top 100 Global Brands" list released by the global brand consulting company Interbrand, three German automobile manufacturers still lead the premium market. Despite a decline in brand value, Mercedes-Benz remains in 10th place (50.1 billion USD). BMW ranks 14th with 46.8 billion USD, and Audi ranks 52nd with 15.4 billion USD.

In the domestic South Korean automobile brands, Hyundai Motor and Kia Motor made the list. Hyundai Motor's brand value reached 24.6 billion USD, ranking 30th. Its "sibling" Kia Motor ranked 89th with a brand value of 8.5 billion USD.

Toyota, Japan's largest global automobile manufacturer, maintained its position this year. Its brand value reached 74.2 billion USD, ranking sixth, the same as last year. This is the highest rank among automobile manufacturers listed in the top 100 brands. Compared to last year, its brand value increased by 2%.

In contrast, the brand values of Honda and Nissan have declined. Their brand values are 24.8 billion USD and 9.4 billion USD respectively, ranking 29th and 82nd. Compared to last year, they have dropped 3 and 23 positions respectively.

The brand value of Tesla reached 29.5 billion USD, a decrease of 35.2%, ranking 25th. Compared to 12th last year, its ranking has dropped significantly.

Notably, BYD entered the top 100 for the first time in this survey. Its brand value was 8.1 billion USD, ranking 90th. It is only one place below Kia, with a difference in brand value of only 400 million USD. Previously, BYD has focused on affordable electric vehicles targeting the European and Southeast Asian markets, and now it is challenging traditional整车 manufacturers.

Interbrand stated, "BYD is the company that has caused the greatest disruption in the automotive market since the emergence of Tesla. To maintain its development momentum, BYD must focus on building a stronger brand story."

Although the evaluation methods differ, the progress of BYD in other global indicators is also evident. In the annual "Top 100 Global Companies" ranking published by the American newsweekly magazine "Time," BYD also ranks high.

Since 2023, "Time" magazine has collaborated with the global market research company Statista to select the world's top 1000 companies, with evaluation criteria including employee satisfaction, ESG composite index, sales growth rate, etc.

Firstly, in this year's survey, Hyundai Motor's overall ranking was 33rd, surpassing Toyota (48th). This is a significant improvement compared to 192nd last year. Kia's ranking this year is 166th.

BYD ranked 150th in this survey, surpassing Kia. Kia moved up five positions from 171st last year, while BYD rose 144 positions from 294th. This is due to its rapid sales growth. Although BYD's employee satisfaction (207th) and ESG composite index (824th) are far below its overall ranking, its sales growth received an "excellent" rating.

Professor Moon-woon Huh from Uisan University in South Korea said, "Compared to BYD, which only recently emerged in the global market a few years ago, other automobile manufacturers have entered a mature phase, making it difficult to achieve explosive sales growth. BYD has experienced exponential growth from a low base, thus gaining an advantage in the evaluation."

Original: www.toutiao.com/article/1849116235819016/

Statement: The article represents the views of the author.