Toyota tops YouGov’s 2021 Automotive Rankings in Saudi Arabia

• The Japanese carmaker enjoys the best brand health among Saudi residents
• The 2021 rankings are dominated by Japanese brands, with four leading names featuring in the list
• Many luxury car brands also feature in the list, mostly of German make
• Two American brands, Ford and GMC, round off the 2021 rankings for KSA

YouGov’s 2021 Automotive Rankings reveal Toyota enjoys the best brand health among Saudi residents and tops the list with an Index score of 36. Along with the parent brand, its luxury segment subsidiary- Lexus also makes a presence in the list in third (with a score of 22.6).

YouGov 2021 BrandIndex Automotive Ranking is determined using Index score – which assesses overall brand health. The score takes into account consumers’ perception of a brand’s overall quality, value, impression, reputation, satisfaction and whether consumers would recommend the brand to others.

The 2021 rankings show Saudi residents’ affinity towards Japanese auto brands as they occupy four spots in the rankings. Along with Toyota and Lexus, Honda and Nissan are also present in the list, at sixth (17.6) and eight place (13.8), respectively.

German luxury car brands are not far behind and are equally well represented, with Mercedes Benz and BMW landing at second (with a score of 29.7) and fourth (22.5), respectively, and Audi at ninth place (13.7). The launch of the BMW X series and Audi’s new E-commerce platform last year (enabling customers to buy Audi cars online during the pandemic) may have helped the luxury carmakers strengthen their position in the market and secure a place in the 2021 rankings.

Hyundai is ranked fifth (19.6), while American car brands Ford and GMC, took the seventh (16.2) and tenth spot (13.6), completing the list of KSA’s top ten auto brands in 2021.

Commenting on the rankings, Scott Booth of YouGov said, “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."

Methodology

How the rankings were measured.

¹Impression – whether someone has a positive or negative impression of a brand

Quality – a net measure of whether consumers think the brand represents good or poor quality

Value – a net measure of whether consumers think the brand represents good or poor value for money

Satisfaction – whether someone is a satisfied or dissatisfied customer

Recommend – whether someone would recommend a brand to a friend or not

Reputation – whether someone is proud or embarrassed to work for a brand