Samsung, Hyundai, Kia enter top 100 Interbrand list

Korean companies’ brand value is rising steadily, with Samsung Electronics taking seventh place in a brand evaluation of companies worldwide.

According to Interbrand`s annual Best Global Brands report on Thursday, Samsung Electronics rose one notch to seventh, while Hyundai Motor Company took 40th, three notches from last year. As Kia Motors also went up nine places to 74th, a total of three Korean companies entered the top 100 brands.

Samsung Electronics’ brand value was appraised at 45.5 dollars, a 15-percent increase from 39.6 dollars last year. The electronics giant took fourth place among the 13 IT companies that were in the top 100 brands, following Apple, Google, and Microsoft. Samsung Electronics has dominated the market by showcasing innovative products including curved TVs and virtual reality headsets, giving a positive evaluation to the titan’s steadily launches of next-generation electronic devices through active communication with consumers, says the New-Yorked based consultancy Interbrand.

Hyundai Motor Company’s brand value this year went up by 16 percent year-on-year to 10.4 dollars. Among global automakers, Hyundai ranked seventh among the 14 car companies listed in the top 100 brands, following Toyota in eighth place, Mercedes Benz in 10th place, and BMW in 11th place. Among them, the brand value of Audi and Volkswagen rose by 27 percent and 23 percent, respectively, from 2013, making the step up by German companies notable.

In this year’s survey, Apple and Google took the top two spots, while Chinese brand Huawei ranked 94th entering the top 100 for the first time, deserving attention. This is a case where recently, Chinese companies have been on a steep rise in the IT sector.

A look at nationalities of the 100 brands shows that the U.S. had the most, with 54, followed by Germany with 11 and France with seven. Japan and the U.K. had five each.