BMW Is 4th Most Reputable Company in the World, Study Shows

Brand image might not sound all that important at first, but trust us, it is! There are some companies out there that can do no wrong, and that competitors usually imitate. Take Apple, for example: their product might be criticized from time to time, but they usually set the trend with whatever they do - iPods, iMacs, iPhones, iPad...whatever!

BMW is a bit like that as well, because try as Audi and Mercedes might, the RS4 and C63 AMG always struggle to meet the standard in performance set by the M3. Now, a recently released study by research-based consulting firm Reputation Institute found that BMW is considered the world’s most reputable company in the automotive sector and fourth overall behind Google, Apple and the Walt Disney Company. See what we mean about companies that can do no wrong?

Other carmakers also performed well in the study, with Daimler ranking 7th and Volkswagen coming in a respectable 10th, followed by Honda (29th), Toyota (60th), Nissan (61th) and Suzuki (63th).

So how was this study conducted and what of it’s validity and accuracy? Well, it all started out with a batch of the 1000 biggest names from across the globe. This was the first phase of the process, which took place in January 2011, after which 100 highest-ranking firms across 41 countries were selected.

The second phase began in April, and consumers from 15 major markets (Australia, Brazil, Canada, China, France, Germany, India, Italy, Japan, Mexico, Russia, South Korea, Spain, United Kingdom, and the United States) were asked to rate to name their top 5 favorite companies.

"The results of the Global RepTrak 100 Study confirm that, when evaluating companies, consumers and investors are aligned,” said says Reputation Institute Chairman, Dr. Charles Fombrun. “The greater the reputation of a company, the more support it earns from consumers, the better its operating performance, and the more money investors are willing to pay for its shares. This is a key feature of the emerging Reputation Economy we now live in,”