Toyota's overall brand relationship score in the "cars" category was 35,9 per cent, compared to 26,5 per cent for BMW and 15.2 per cent for Mercedes Benz. Toyota's rating went down by one per cent from a year ago, while BMW and Mercedes-Benz dropped by 0,4 per cent and 1,7 per cent respectively. Volkswagen improved slightly (0,2 per cent) to retain fourth position on 14,4 per cent. (Markinor's "brand relationship" rating is calculated on the basis of a brand's weighted top-of-mind awareness, brand loyalty, weighted trust and confidence).

The positions of the top four car companies remained the same as in 2004, 2003 and 2002, while in 2001 Volkswagen had been in third place with Mercedes Benz fourth. The rankings of the other six companies in the top 10 remained the same as a year ago, except that Honda and Opel swopped places at the bottom of the table, with Opel moving up from 10th to ninth at the expense of Honda. Mazda was in fifth position, followed by Ford, Nissan and Isuzu. These latter four brands all improved their scores over 2004, while both Honda and Opel fared worse in 2005 than in 2004.

The rankings of the top seven brands are the same in the metropolitan and non-metropolitan areas, while Audi ranked 10th in the metropolitan areas and Isuzu appeared in eighth position on the non-metropolitan list.

Not only is Toyota the top company in terms of overall brand relationship in the "cars" category, but it is also the only car company among the top 10 brands in South Africa in terms of overall ranking of brand relationship scores on a table that was headed by Coca-Cola on 58 per cent. Toyota ranked seventh (35,9 per cent) - up from eighth in 2004.

This is the fifth year that the annual Markinor survey has included "brand loyalty" as a factor in compiling the overall brand relationship scores and Toyota has come out top every year. This means that the latest results are not comparable with similar surveys conducted by Markinor between 1992 and 2000, when Toyota was also the top car brand.

Toyota was also the only car company ranked in the top 10 of "South Africa's favourite brands", taking sixth position, behind Castle Lager and ahead of Nike. This was an entirely subjective question in which the respondents mentioned 388 brands as their personal favourites.

A new category was introduced in the 2005 Markinor Business Times survey and this was to rank South Africa's "coolest" brands. Toyota placed 21st and second in the car category behind BMW (12th). Other car companies in the top 50 were Volkswagen (34th) and Mercedes-Benz (45th).

The business-to-consumer survey involved one-on-one interviews with 3 500 adults - 2 000 in metropolitan areas and 1 500 in non-metropolitan areas - covering all races and all geographical areas. The interviews were conducted during April and May. A total of 22 categories were surveyed on the basis of business-to-consumer relationships.

For the second time, the Markinor-Sunday Times Top Brands Survey included a business-to-business category. A total of 400 interviews were conducted at director level and above with a cross-section of executives in the South African business environment, with a staff complement of 100 or more. The majority (160) came from the manufacturing sector. Ten categories were surveyed.

Toyota again ranked third, behind luxury carmakers Mercedes-Benz and BMW, in terms of brand relationship scores in the "cars" section. Toyota improved its score by 3 per cent, while the scores for Mercedes-Benz and BMW dropped by 1,2 per cent and 0,8 per cent respectively.