Volkswagen - reputation 2011-2017
Reputation of the Volkswagen Group – additional information
The Volkswagen Group is one of the leading automobile manufacturers in the world, as the carmaker sold more than 10 million vehicles worldwide in 2016. After September 2015 when the Volkswagen diesel deception scandal broke out in the U. S., the company's brand worth and reputation experienced some serious damage. Volkswagen was one of the most valuable brands in the world In 2015, the brand value of Volkswagen stood at 12.55 billion U.S. dollars in 2015; however, in 2016, the the German group had lost its position among the TOP 10 most valuable brands worldwide. The scandal concerned that fuel consumption – and consequently carbon dioxide emissions – had been understated for some of their vehicles sold in the country. Considering the U.S. is one of the largest markets for the automotive industry, this scandal had a direct impact on other important markets for the company. Several countries in Europe – the most profitable region for Volkswagen – opened investigations on the matter after the scandal, and were also impacted by this issue. According to the data from the Reputation Institute presented in the statistic below, the German carmaker had the lowest index score in 2016 since 2011. Volkswagen had a score of about 77 points in both 2011 and 2012, and kept an average of nearly 75 points until 2016, when this figure dropped to 61.3. The most reputable companies have, on average, index scores of 77 points. In 2017, Rolex was the most reputable company according to the Reputation Institute, with 80.38 points. Rolls-Royce was the highest ranked automobile manufacturer, with 77.66 points.