Germany 150 2022

The annual report on the most valuable and strongest German brands

Top German brands led by Mercedes-Benz, Deutsche Telekom and Allianz Group

• The top 150 German Brands are led by Mercedes-Benz and Deutsche Telekom
• Porsche is the strongest German brand with AAA brand rating
• Retail trade picks up in Germany with Aldi and Lidl ahead of competition
• Sixt is the fastest growing German brand in the ranking
• Germany comes in third place in the Global Soft Power Index 2022 report

The top 150 German Brands are led by Mercedes-Benz and Deutsche Telekom

With a brand value of €52.4 billion, Mercedes-Benz is the most valuable German brand, closely followed by Deutsche Telekom (brand value up 19% to €51.9 billion). Allianz Group (brand value up 12% to €39.0 billion) is in the third place, knocking Volkswagen (brand value down 12% to €35.4 billion) off the podium. The winner by points in the Brand Strength Index is Porsche (brand value down 1% to €29.1 billion) with a Brand Strength Index (BSI) score of 85.1 out of 100 and a corresponding AAA brand rating.

This year's shooting star is the Sixt brand (brand value up 118% to €1.2 billion), which has more than doubled its brand value and gained 19 ranks to now be in 69^th position. In general, it shows that the automotive sector accounts for the lion's share of the value of our top brands, about one third of the total brand value of the German brands in the ranking. Along with the automobile sector, the retail sector is also on the rise, led by Aldi (brand value up 26% to €16.6 billion) in the 8th position and Lidl (brand value up 61% to €15.5 billion) in the 10th position.

Every year, leading brand valuation consultancy Brand Finance puts 5,000 of the world’s biggest brands to the test, and publishes around 100 reports, ranking brands across all sectors and countries. Germany’s top 150 most valuable and strongest brands are included in the annual Brand Finance Germany 150 ranking.

A key factor that stands out is the business models of all the major retail brands are consistently being extended into online retail and mixed and expanded with service offerings such as travel, telecommunications, textiles or financial services. This also pays off in the brand values.

Ulf-Brün Drechsel, Country Manager DACH, Brand Finance

Porsche is the strongest German brand with AAA brand rating

In addition to brand value, Brand Finance determines the relative strength of brands through a balanced scorecard of metrics evaluating marketing investment, stakeholder equity, and business performance. Compliant with ISO 20671, Brand Finance’s assessment of stakeholder equity incorporates original market research data from over 100,000 respondents in more than 35 countries and across nearly 30 sectors.

A German car brand also emerges as the winner of the much-regarded Brand Strength Index (BSI). Porsche lands in first place with 85.1 out of 100 in the Brand Strength Index and shows last year's winner Audi the taillights. Audi slips down to 17th place due to a significant points deficit in brand strength.

The automotive sector remains the most important value generator in the ranking by far and, with a total brand value of €165.1 billion accounts for 30% of the total value volume - even if the sector has lost four per cent in absolute terms compared to the previous year.

Ulf-Brün Drechsel, Country Manager DACH, Brand Finance

Retail trade picks up in Germany with Aldi and Lidl ahead of competition

After the automotive industry, the retail sector is also on the rise. The retail sector is picking up strongly and shines with a value increase of 76%. It now accounts for the second largest share in the total brand value of all brands in the ranking, namely 13% valued at €74.5 billion. With Aldi (8th place) and Lidl (10th place), two extraordinarily fast-growing retail brands land in the top 10. At a distance follows the likewise fast-growing retail brand Edeka (22nd place).

The amazing performance of retail brands can be explained mainly by the Corona crisis. During the pandemic induced constraints, consumer and supermarkets were able to prove their role as social meeting points and reliable suppliers of essential goods, thus also further increasing their brand values.

Ulf-Brün Drechsel, Country Manager DACH, Brand Finance

Sixt is the fastest growing German brand in the ranking

The international mobility provider Sixt increased its brand value by 118%, making it the fastest-growing German brand in 2022. Thanks to a strong international and consistently customer-oriented growth strategy and the digitalisation of its products, Sixt has increased its brand value enormously. The biggest brand loser is Smart. The German car brand loses 46% of its brand value and thus slips a whole 32 ranks to penultimate place in the Brand Finance Germany 150 2022 ranking.

Germany comes in third place in the Global Soft Power Index 2022 report

The high values of German brands depend not least on the extraordinarily positive perception of the German economy at home and abroad. This assessment is also in line with the results of the Global Soft Power Index 2022 study published by Brand Finance. In this study, Germany ranked first out of 120 nations in the category ‘strong and stable economy’. Overall Germany gained soft power in the second Corona crisis year and placed third in the overall ranking, behind the USA and Great Britain.

The Global Soft Power Index is a fully survey-based annual research study on the influential perception of country brands. Soft power is a special form of exercising power and influence by states. Unlike hard power, soft power is not based on military resources, but on means such as role model function or attractiveness.  The Global Soft Power Index records the opinions of over 100,000 respondents worldwide on 120 nation brands.