The Burrow
Oct 18, 2022
When people buy a car, get their car insurance, and start driving it on the road there are many factors that they take into account when choosing their perfect vehicle. Many of these factors come in and out of fashion, but which are on trend at the moment?
Since the invention of the car, there have been countless different trends driving the industry forward. Some brands and models have been founded, successful, and then fallen into decline and ruin; others have seen continued growth throughout the decades.
In the past, these trends were harder to measure but now, using Google search patterns, Compare the Market can identify the global motoring trends that are taking the driving world by storm.
While you may be interested in purchasing a car to keep up with certain trends, it’s important to understand how different factors can actually influence the cost of your premiums. Details down to the exact make and model of your car, the type of fuel it uses, and even the colour of the car can impact such costs.
Generally, the more expensive a car is to replace, the more expensive your insurance will be. The cost can also be influenced by the availability of car parts. For example, if you’re interested in getting a vintage car such as an inter-war Studebaker, with unique car parts that are difficult to replicate or replace, you will likely have much higher premiums than you would for a similar level of cover on a more common car, such as a Toyota Corolla.
Keep in mind that all policies, regardless of the level of cover, can be subject to exclusions, restrictions and limits. Always read your Product Disclosure Statement (PDS) before making any sort of purchase to ensure the policy will be appropriate for you.
So, which trends have been the most popular for car users in recent times? By looking at data from the past four years, we have been able to investigate how the pandemic has influenced what models, fuel types and car types have become the most popular. Let’s take a look at the results.
Swedish manufacturer Polestar is the automotive brand that has seen the greatest increase in worldwide Google searches in the last four years. There were almost 11 million more searches in the last year than there were in 2018/2019. This equates to an increase in searches of over 780%, which is over 700% greater than the average rise in searches across all car makes (60.8%)!
MG is a historic name in British motoring. After being founded just under a century ago, they have gone on to produce historic sports cars such as the MGB and the MG Midget. Now a Chinese-owned brand, MG focuses much more on family cars, and interest in its cars has grown significantly in recent years. Google searches have increased by almost 130% in four years, an increase of around 8 million global searches.
Another popular British sports car company is Lotus, and there is also an increase in interest in the Norfolk-based UK car maker. They were the final company that saw their global Google searches increase by over 100% since 2018/2019. During this time period, Lotus revealed their electric sports car the ‘Evija’, which has drawn more interest in the company.
Toyota was the most searched car brand in the last year, with over 142 million searches for the brand around the globe. This is the first time in the last four years that Toyota was the most searched make – they previously ranked second to a different brand each year.
Tesla had the second highest number of searches in the past year, despite searches growing by 3.2% over the last 12 months they lost out on the top spot. Tesla only has a range of electric cars, making them the sole EV-only car make at the top of the rankings.
Four years ago, the Volkswagen (VW) brand had the most searches across the globe. Since then it has dropped to third place in the rankings. Although searches have increased by over 18% in the last four years, this is the lowest increase of any of the top 16 most searched makes this year.
Tesla is the top searched brand in 11 countries. Ten of these countries are in Europe, with the exception being Israel.
Once again, Europe is the place where VWs are the most popular. Surprisingly they are not the most searched make in their home country of Germany, but they take the top spot in Italy and Spain.
The popularity of Toyota is more widespread across different corners of the globe. It was the most searched car maker in the United States, Australia, and Iceland among others.
The Haval H6 is the car that has seen the biggest increase in global Google searches in the past four years. The Chinese-built SUV has seen searches increase by almost 300%. Interest in the car skyrocketed between 2019/20 and 2020/21, during this time the hybrid variant of the H6 was launched.
The N-Box is a Japanese “kei car”. The micro city style of car, popular in Japan, is characterised by its reduced body dimensions and engine capacity, specifically designed for the busy city streets. Global searches for the N-Box rose from just under 130,000 in 2018/19 to just over 360,000 in the last year, an increase of 181%.
The VW Sagitar is known by many different names across the globe. Sold as the Jetta in some parts of the world, the Sagiter is a family car sold in both saloon and estate versions. Searches increased by just over 166% between 2018/19 and 2021/22.
Honda Civic: 34,710,000 searches in the last year.The Honda Civic was the most Googled car model across the globe by over 8 million searches. The Civic is now in its 50th year of production and it appears its popularity is just as strong as ever.
The Tesla Model 3 had the second-highest amount of global Google searches, making it the most searched for an electric car. The Model 3 was only the third most-searched model in the previous year, but searches increased by 6.8%.
The Jeep Wrangler has switched places with the Tesla Model 3. It was the second most searched car model in 2020/21, but it slipped to the third most searched in the last year.
Hydrogen-powered fuel-type cars have seen the highest increase in searches, rising by almost 190% since 2018/19. Hydrogen-powered cars have an advantage over plug-in electric vehicles because they don’t require charging from the mains, and the only waste product they actually produce is water.
At the other end of the spectrum, the interest in diesel-powered cars is waning. In 2018/19 diesel-powered cars were the fourth most searched fuel type. During this period the average price of diesel has risen by US $0.29 per litre worldwide1 making it more expensive to run the vehicles.
Electric cars are the most searched fuel type in the world at the moment by a country mile, with almost 6 million more Google searches for electric cars than any other fuel type!
The traditional way to power a car is the petrol-fuelled internal combustion engine, but in 2021/22 it is the fuel type that has seen the smallest amount of interest across the globe.
The saloon car, where the boot is separate from the passenger compartment, has seen the biggest increase in searches in the past four years, with an increase of 87.6% or 1.3 million searches.
Pickup trucks, or Utes as they are known in some parts of the world, are the second most trending vehicle type, as searches have increased past the 2 million per year mark in the last four years.
Off-road vehicles are often tough, rugged vehicles that are designed to go where other cars cannot. Searches have increased by almost 75% from just over 210,000 to just under 370,000.
The most searched car type is the SUV, which had almost 3 million more searches than the next highest in the past year. It’s the only car type that had more than 10 million Google searches in 2021/22.
The van has become increasingly more popular as a personal usage vehicle, and its traditional role as a commercial vehicle in recent years. This is supported by a 66.4% increase in searches, and over 9 million Google searches in 2021/22.
While vans are big and bulky, sports cars are typically small and agile. They only just make the rankings as the third most searched car type, beating limousines by less than 100 Google searches.
If you are looking for your next car to be on trend in market right now, environmentally friendly fuels should be what powers your next motor. Sports cars are also popular, with Lotus leading the way for brands increasing in popularity, with many of the additional car makes, models, and types within this study evidently within the public consciousness right now.
1 Global Petrol Prices, https://www.globalpetrolprices.com/diesel_prices/, Accessed 13th October 2022