Marketing Automotive

Interbrand, the brand consultancy group, surveyed 10.000 consumers worldwide , , asking them to rate major brands based on criteria such as their authenticity, relevance and consistency in the environmental issues.

Toyota, the automaker, led the rankings on 64.2 points, and received a score from consumers which was 7.6 points higher than that yielded by detailed scrutiny of its performance.

Alongside developing eco-friendly cars like the Prius, Toyota has outlined a range of goals from reducing carbon dioxide emissions to supporting afforestation and recycling.

Riki Inuzuka, managing officer of Toyota’s corporate planning and research divisions, suggested this can deliver a variety of advantages.

He said: “We know that profitability is the result of our efforts. Another benefit is that we’ve also succeeded in winning the hearts of customers and society. Through this, we are able to reinvest our earnings in creating ‘ever-better cars,’ and by fostering this virtuous circle, we achieve sustainable growth.”

Honda, another car manufacturer, was near to Toyota with 58.9 points.

Panasonic, the electronics expert, completed the top ten, on 57.3 points.

One trend identified by Interbrand was that many big-name brands seemed to benefit from favourable perceptions simply by virtue of their scale.

“The importance of understanding how a brand behaves and how the marketplace perceives the brand on the measurement of environmental responsibility is paramount,” said Tom Zara, Interbrand’s global practice leader, corporate citizenship.

“Corporations are now looked to act in ways that reduce the sins of the past. They are expected and held accountable to innovate to make the Earth a better place.”

If you want more détails about this Survey, please go to :

http://www.brandchannel.com/home/post/2011/07/26/Japan-Dominates-Best-Global-Green-Brands-2011.aspx

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Nielsen Research organized recently a research to know if Russian motorist would be interested in driving green cars.

62 % of the respondents supported the idea that the government would sponsor the production of a hybrid or fully electric car. Only 16 % showed their skepticism about the idea. 85 % answered they would consider buying one if it was available now.

Questionned about their key expectations regarding a new car, the Russian drivers underlined the following priorties :

• Quality assembly (63 %),
• Affordableprice (57 %),
• Adaptability to Russian climate (34 %),
• Long term cost-effectiveness (25 %),
• Fuel consumption (25 %),

The most popular factors are directly connected with saving. Among non-price factors, Russians are focused on the practical side of the deal. The most important for them is adaptability of a car to the rough local climate and road conditions and a high quality of assembly.

March 2010