Honda is the car brand with the “best overall brand health”, according to the YouGov 2021 Automotive Rankings for Malaysia survey. With an index score of +37.9, the No.1 non-national car brand in sales is ahead of Japanese compatriot Toyota (+36.1) and perennial market leader Perodua (+33.6).
The rankings are compiled using the YouGov BrandIndex Index score, a measure of overall brand health calculated by taking the average of Impression, Quality, Value, Satisfaction, Recommend and Reputation scores. The survey ran from February 1, 2020 to January 31, 2021.
While Honda came out tops overall, there are three metrics where it was behind other carmakers. Perodua (+44.0) leads perception when it comes to Value (the brand consumers see as the most value-for-money), followed by Toyota (+35.5) and Honda (+35.2). Perodua (+29.6) also beats Honda (+21.5) when it comes to Satisfaction (how satisfied consumers are with the brand).
An area where Honda is good, but not top, according to polled Malaysians, is Reputation (which measures the corporate reputation of a brand by asking which brands consumers would be proud of working for). Here, premium brand Mercedes-Benz (+39.3) is slightly ahead of German rival BMW (+38.8), which reclaimed the premium sales lead from Merc last year. Honda comes in third at (+38.1). YouGov says that the brand Malaysians would be least proud to work for is one that was born here – Proton (+14.9). The national carmaker comes in sixth overall with a score of +18.4.
Japanese brands dominate the overall top 10. Away from the podium, there’s Nissan in eighth (+14.4) and Mazda in tenth (+12.9). German brands also fare well with Mercedes-Benz in fourth (+23.4), BMW in fifth (+23.3) and Audi in seventh (+15.9). The only brand that’s not Japanese, Malaysian or German is British SUV marque Range Rover in ninth (+13.2).
YouGov describes itself as an international research and data analytics group with a mission to “supply a continuous stream of accurate data into what the world thinks”. With a “proprietary global panel” of 11 million members, it operates in the UK, Americas, Europe, the Middle East, India and Asia Pacific.
Now, we don’t know much about YouGov’s methodology and neither are we endorsing it, but the list above isn’t hugely surprising. As with most survey results, the “experts” in the field might take exception to the rankings, but enthusiasts might not be seeing things like how “normal people” – who form the real majority of consumers by the way, not car guys – do.
For instance, Honda is the non-national leader in Malaysia, and our market is an anomaly where Honda outsells Toyota, the world’s top selling auto brand. Look around and you’ll also find myths/jokes about male Honda owners being more attractive to the opposite sex. Away from the “VTEC crowd”, from the upper middle class onwards, Honda’s SUVs are urban street furniture (alongside the Mazda CX-5 and more lately, Proton’s X SUVs).
Perodua is another good example. Far from a favourite (to put it lightly) among car guys, but the market leader knows what Malaysians want. Things like handling, refinement and design are topics heavily discussed on forums such as this one, but more “mundane” aspects of motoring such as value/features, reliability and fuel efficiency are things that matter more to carbuyers.
What do you think of this brand survey’s ranking? Agree, somewhat agree, somewhat disagree or totally disagree? Discuss.
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Well, as expected Honda tops. This award belonged to ugais all of you Honda fans out there ❤️❤️
The power of Dreams
X50 is like young man, full of muscle unlike Ativa is like an old man who has flabby skin
Lol honda, staff sendiri isi survey ka
Those polled local Malaysians, completely missed out & forgotten the Ford Mustang, Lol
Brand lain kena rajin isi laa
YouGov more credible then J.D. Power. Keep it up Gov! Many have full confidence in how things are being run. Well done!
INB4 anti-Honda bot accounts comments come in
I bet Perodua trollers will claim this proves their cars are better than Merc, BMW, & Audi.
Still see none around as of now. Mission FAILED
Ur here. Mission success
Perodua better than Rolls Royce lah, dey.
Waiting for sore losers to question the credibility of Yougov.
Shocked! Luxury car buyers were hoodwinked all along parting with their hardearned monies. Rather they should have bought Perodua Axias instead! I expect luxury car sales immediately drop to zero with such profound revelations. The rich have YouGov to thank for saving them tons of money instead of wasting on buying Mercedeses, Beemers, & Audis.
People judge based on multiple factors, bukan luxury je. Simpanlah sikit. Nampak sangat kurang cerdik.
brand Malaysians would be least proud to work for – Proton (+14.9)
Ouch !!