's brand value rose 145 percent from last year to RMB 71 billion, overtaking 's RMB 67.5 billion.

(Image credit: Nio)

Nio's brand value rose 145 percent from last year to RMB 71 billion, replacing BYD as the most valuable Chinese auto brand, according to the Hurun Most Valuable China Brands 2021 released today.

BYD's brand value dropped to second place, but still rose 114 percent from last year to RMB 67.5 billion, according to the list.

(Image credit: Hurun)

Great Wall Motor ranked third, with brand value up 173 percent from last year to RMB 56 billion.

Xpeng Motors ranked fourth, with a brand value increase of 287 percent over last year to RMB 29 billion.

Li Auto ranked fifth, with a brand value increase of 82 percent over last year to RMB 25.5 billion.

Geely and Changan Automobile are the other two auto brands on the list, valued at RMB 19.5 billion and RMB 14.5 billion, respectively.

"The automotive sector, led by Nio, saw the fastest growth in value, with an average increase of 121 percent," Hurun's report said.

However, the combined value of these automotive brands represents only 4 percent of the value of all brands on the entire list, according to the report.

Kweichow Moutai was the most valuable Chinese brand for the fourth consecutive year and the only one with a brand value of more than RMB 1 trillion, at RMB 1.01 trillion.

WeChat's brand value of RMB 245 billion ranked fourth among all brands, ahead of Douyin's RMB 240 billion and Tencent's RMB 235 billion.