Surprise, Surprise: Tesla Becomes Most Searched Auto Brand In USA – CleanTechnica

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Tesla has reportedly toppled Ford to become the most searched auto brand in the United States. Behind Tesla and Ford is Toyota in third.

Globally, in terms of number of countries where an auto brand is #1, the story is a bit different. Toyota is #1 (for the 4th year in a row). Though, Tesla did fly up into second place, just above BMW. That bumped Mercedes-Benz out of the top 3 for the first time since this analysis began in 2018.

The research is coming to us from Compare the Market AU, which examined data from Google.

Circling back to the US ranking, Honda was previously #2 in the country, but Ford bumped it down and Toyota held its ground at #3 such that Honda fell off the podium.

But does this capture all the press and social media buzz from Tesla Cybertruck deliveries beginning? According to the researchers, it does. “Tesla’s online popularity was boosted this year after finally delivering the long overdue Cybertruck, though it was released with a higher price tag and lower range than previously promised.”

Clearly, the Tesla brand continues to grow around the world, especially as the Model Y and Model 3 make it into more and more markets (often shooting to the top of the model sales in those markets) and no doubt thanks in part to the early Cybertruck deliveries. “Tesla did well across the world too, coming in second place for the first time since Compare the Market AU began counting the data. It was an impressive result as Tesla didn’t make the top brands list at all for 2022,” a company rep noted to me on email.

“Tesla just beat out BMW, which was the top brand in 26 countries, and Mercedes-Benz was pushed off the podium altogether, coming fifth with six countries. Audi was ranked fourth by being the number one brand in seven countries for 2023.”

Still, despite all that growth, it’s noteworthy that Toyota’s reign hardly budged (at least, on the surface). It remained the top searched auto brand in 64 countries (compared to 69 in 2022), and Tesla was well below it at 29. That said, one has to wonder if the roles won’t be reversed in 5 years. As the analysts write, “in an incredible turnaround Tesla has gone from not making the rankings at all in 2022 to second place in 2023, with 29 of 155 countries listing Tesla as their number one car brand in Google Trends.” On the flip side, how much of that boost was from the Cybertruck event, and will that search volume hold steady in the years to come? That’s anyone’s guess, and a topic for a lively debate.

“Tesla’s meteoric rise displaced other long-running top brands as well. BMW was bumped down from 36 countries in 2022 to 26 in 2023, putting the German brand in third place. Mercedes-Benz went from consistently being in third place to coming fifth this year, dropping from 10 countries in 2022 to six in 2023. This year, Audi came just ahead of Mercedes-Benz with seven nations searching for it more than any other brand.”

Notably, looking at the global rankings, Ford and Jeep fell out of the rankings altogether. That seems especially eye catching since these are brands the Cybertruck is specifically coming after. Maybe they will bounce back in 2024, or maybe we are in a new era. Join in the discussion below to let us know what you think.

All images courtesy of Compare the Market AU,