The brand value of Kia Motors Corp. and Hyundai Motor Co. is up this year, according to Interbrand’s 17th annual Best Global Brands report.
Both South Korea-based automakers have their North American subsidiaries in Orange County—Fountain Valley-based Hyundai Motor America and Kia Motors America Inc. in Irvine.
The report identifies the 100 most valuable global brands, with Apple Inc., Google and Coca-Cola Co. leading the pack.
Hyundai, posting an 11% growth in the brand to $12.54 billion, moved up four spots to No. 35 on the 2016 list. Kia, meanwhile, is up 12% over last year’s valuation to $6.32 billion, securing it the No. 69 rank—a five-spot ascent.
“This welcome rise in Kia’s brand value is a clear reflection of extensive company-wide efforts to ensure consistent and continuous growth in our brand power,” Charles Suh, senior vice president of Kia’s corporate marketing division, said in a statement.
All companies featured in the report have global operations, with at least 30% of revenue coming from outside of their home regions. Their financial data must be available publicly and show profitability “over the longer term” in order to be included.
Interbrand is part of the New York-based Omnicom Group Inc. network of agencies. It has offices in New York and San Francisco.
