German carmaker Mercedes Benz has been voted the top car brand in a European survey.

The survey, compiled by market research firm Harris Interactive, looked at how adult consumers from Great Britain, France, Germany, Italy and Spain perceive the leading car manufactures.

German-based companies dominated the leading positions with BMW coming second and Audi finishing third.

Fourth on the list was Volvo, the only non-German brand to make it into the top five, while Volkswagen took fifth spot.

Fiat is considered to be the worst brand for overall quality in the five European markets surveyed except in its home market, where Italians have only a poorer opinion of Skoda.

Hyundai is amongst the worst five brands across all five European markets, as is Skoda. Citroen escapes this dubious distinction in France alone. In most countries the indigenous brands are rated more favourably. However, a notable exception is the UK, where Rover follows closely behind Fiat as the second worst brand in terms of overall quality.

"The ability to tap into the perceptions and values held by car buyers, and indeed, customers of any product or service, is a critical factor in understanding what drives human decision-making," says George Terhanian of Harris Interactive.

"Our ability to quickly and efficiently interview large numbers of Europeans, all members of our multimillion member panel of consumers, makes it much easier for us to generate the kind of evidence we need to inform and guide the development of our clients’ marketing and communications strategies."

The twenty-one car brands surveyed were Alfa Romeo, Audi, BMW, Citroen, Fiat, Ford, Honda, Hyundai, Lexus, Mazda, Mercedes Benz, Nissan, Opel (Vauxhall in GB), Peugeot, Renault, Rover, Saab, Skoda, Toyota, Volkswagen and Volvo.

The article Mercedes Benz voted best car brand originally appeared on 999 Today