Hyundai in India, Toyota mostly elsewhere: Car brands most searched online

With every passing year, the hunt for the perfect car and car brand goes increasingly online and automotive companies, especially in Covid-19 times, have hardly left a stone unturned in increasing digital presence and reach. The year 2021 was no different and scores of potential buyers logged online to check out what car brands have been up to. An annual ranking published by Australia's Compare the Market, has now put out data which shows most-searched car brands in major countries and regions across the world last year.

As per the data released, Hyundai dominates online search among people at large in India. The Koreans have had a solid presence in the online space and is the country's second-largest car maker. Hyundai also had several key announcements and launches in 2021, from Alcazar three-row SUV to the i20 N Line. Models like Creta and Venue remain firm favourites with waiting period spanning several months.

But while Hyundai has been playing strong in several markets outside of India too, the online search for the brand tops rivals in only a handful of other countries - Colombia and Argentina, to be exact.

It is Toyota that dominates the world even when it comes to online searches. It is the most-searched automotive brand in countries like Australia, Russia, Japan, several South American and African countries.

China is the world's largest car and EV market and while there is a close watch on online activities of citizens here, the above-mentioned report finds that it is Tesla that dominates the online search here.

Across the Pacific ocean, Americans and Canadians were mostly searching Ford through their smart devices while Mexicans were searching Nissan.

In the UK and many west European counties, BMW managed to top online interests. BMW was also most searched in South Africa. Audi and Volvo figure only in a handful of west European countries.