Michelin, Bridgestone again top valued tire brands

LONDON — The Michelin and Bridgestone brands have been deemed the world's most valuable tire brands for a sixth straight year, according to the latest rating by Brand Finance, a London-based business valuation and strategy consultancy.

The two brands are judged to be clearly more valuable than other brands, according to the consultancy's Automotive Industry 2023 ranking, with the Michelin brand gaining strength this past year while Bridgestone's brand value slipped slightly.

Brand Finance defines brand value as the value of the trademark and associated marketing intellectual property within the branded business. This year the consultancy cited Michelin's product line breadth, global presence, identifiable mascot and high-profile efforts toward sustainability as reasons for increasing the brand's value this year.

The consultancy also relies in part on an international standard — ISO 10668 — that defines brand as a "marketing-related intangible asset including, but not limited to, names, terms, signs, symbols, logos and designs, intended to identify goods, services or entities, creating distinctive images and associations in the minds of stakeholders, thereby generating economic benefits."

Brand Finance put the value of the Michelin brand at $7.9 billion, up 2% over 2022, while the Bridgestone brand is valued at $7 billion, down 1% from 2022. Brand Finance did not elaborate on its reasons for the lower value.

The consultancy puts Continental third with a value of $4.1 billion (down 3%), followed by Goodyear at $2.2 billion (down 2%) and Dunlop (a brand shared by Goodyear and Sumitomo Rubber Industries Ltd.) at $2 billion (down 18%).

The rest of the top 10 are: Pirelli, $1.5 billion (up 1%); Hankook, $1.3 billion (down 14%); Yokohama, $1.2 billion (down 2%); Toyo, $900 million (down 1%); and Giti, $800 million (unchanged).

Brand Finance expanded its list this year to a top 15, which includes two Chinese brands, Sailun (No. 11) and Linglong (No. 12), and two Indian brands, MRF (No. 13) and Apollo (No. 15), and Cooper (No. 14).

The consultancy tabbed Sailun as the brand with the fastest-growing value, up 6% over 2022 to $700 million. Brand Finance cited Sailun's investment into technology (eg. EcoPoint3 liquid compounding) and sustainability, which garnered "widespread" media coverage.

In general, Brand Finance noted that the tire sector is continually changing, with sustainability related trends anticipated to influence the sector significantly in the coming years.

Consumers and regulators alike are increasingly demanding tires are constructed from sustainable materials, with lower rolling resistance, and which can be recycled or re-used at the end of their life cycle, the consultancy said.

Similarly, as sales of electric vehicles increase, there will be a greater demand for specialized tires that can handle distinctive features, such as high torque and regenerative braking systems.