Hyundai Motor succeeded for the first time in joining the top 50 global brands as ranked by Interbrand, a leading global brand consultancy, on Monday.

The Korean carmaker ranked 43rd in the latest Best Global Brand report by Interbrand, which identifies and examines the 100 most valuable global brands every year.

Last year, Hyundai’s ranking was 53rd. Its affiliate Kia Motors also saw its ranking rise four notches to 83rd this year.

In 2005, Hyundai became the first Korean carmaker to be ranked on the renowned list. Since then, its brand value has surged from $3.5 billion to $9 billion this year.

Among automotive brands alone, Hyundai came in seventh, outpacing Porsche (64th) and Ferrari (98th). Toyota, ranking 10th, topped carmakers, followed by Mercedes-Benz (11th) and BMW (12th).

Kia, which joined the top 100 list last year, recorded $4.78 billion in brand value.

Across brands, the average growth rate in value was 8.4 percent, while within the automotive industry the figure was 12.4 percent, the report found.

Among three Korean brands listed, Samsung, which ranked eighth, showed the highest brand value, worth $39.61 billion.

By Lee Ji-yoon (jylee@heraldcorp.com)