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Japan’s Toyota Motor Corp. topped YouGov’s 2021 Automotive Rankings in Saudi Arabia, which highlights the best-performing organizations in the Automotive sector according to their overall brand health, with an Index score of 36. 

Lexus, the luxury vehicle division of Toyota came in third with an index score of 22.6, overtaking Germany’s BMW.

The rankings are based on the Index score from YouGov BrandIndex, which is a measure of overall brand health calculated by taking into account the average of consumers’ perception of the brand’s quality, value, satisfaction, recommended and reputation.

The measurement of each of the aspects under which the rankings are based denote impression as whether consumers have a positive or negative impression of a brand; Quality as a net measure of whether consumers think the brand represents good or poor quality; Value as net measure of whether consumers think the brand represents good or poor value for money; Satisfaction as whether consumers identify as a satisfied or dissatisfied customer; Recommend as whether consumers would recommend a brand to others or not and reputation as whether an individual is proud or embarrassed to work for a brand.

The 2021 rankings affiirm the affinity that Saudi automotive consumers have towards Japanese automakers as they account for four of the top 10 nameplates in the rankings.

In addition to Toyota and Lexus, Honda claimed the sixth position on the list with an index score of 17.6 as well as Nissan, which was ranked eighth with an index score of 13.8.

German luxury automakers also proved to be perceived positively in terms of overall brand health, accounting to three of the top 10 nameplates in the rankings. Mercedes Benz occupied second place with an index score of 22.6, BMW claimed fourth, with an index score of 22.5 and Audi was positioned at ninth place with an index score of 13.7.

American automakers Ford and GMC occupied two of the top 10 nameplates, with Ford occupying seventh with an index score of 16.2 and GMC positioned at tenth place with an index score of 13.6. 

Completing the list of Saudi Arabia’s Automotive Rankings is the South Korean automotive manufacturer Hyundai, which secured fifth place, with an index score of 19.6. 

The Saudi Arabian automotive market is increasingly becoming one of the most important new automotive markets globally. In 2019, it was found to be the largest new automotive sales market in the Middle East, accounting for an estimated 40 percent of all vehicles sold in the region, according to the International Trade Administration.

Commenting on the Automotive Rankings, Scott Booth, YouGov’s head of data products in MENA said that “Like many other industries automakers also suffered the impact of the Coronavirus lockdowns. However, things seem to have gradually improved as vaccination efforts expand across the world.” 

“Our data shows that Saudi residents have a strong affinity towards Japanese automakers with four of the leading brands making the top 10 list this year. Not far behind are German luxury cars that enjoy strong brand health among the population. The rankings show that despite the impact of the pandemic on consumer purchasing patterns, the strength of bellwether auto brands remains and they maintain strong brand health in the country,” Booth added.