For the second consecutive year, Toyota was the most-searched auto brand in South Africa in 2023, just beating out BMW.
This is supported by the 2023 Compare the Market’s Most Searched Cars report, which also revealed that Toyota continued to hold the top spot internationally.
The study examines 155 countries’ worth of online car searches to determine which brands are the most well-known globally.
Prior to 2022, BMW was the leading brand in South Africa for four years. However, Toyota overthrew it in 2022. In 2023, BMW finished in second place once more.
“Evaluate the Market According to AU’s sixth annual Most Searched Cars report, Toyota maintains its top spot in South Africa even after overtaking BMW as the most searched brand in the country in 2022, according to Compare the Market.
When it comes to the most searched-for auto brand in the nation, Volkswagen came in third.
For the fourth consecutive year, Toyota topped the global rankings, with Elon Musk’s Tesla coming in second.
According to Compare the Market, “Tesla’s incredible comeback saw Toyota’s lead shorten from 69 countries in 2022 to 64 in 2023.”
Tesla surpassed BMW, the top brand in 26 countries, by a narrow margin. Tesla is the most searched brand in 29 countries.
Mercedes-Benz, which had finished in third place the previous time, was eliminated from the podium and placed fifth with six countries, it continued.
In 2023, Audi ranked fourth overall and was the top brand in seven nations.
The leading brand in each of the 155 nations that Compare the Market examined is depicted in the image below.
The data from Compare the Market and AutoTrader about the most popular auto brands in South Africa show a strong correlation.
August 2023 saw the release of the most recent Mid-Year Car Industry report by the used car classifieds platform, which examines website search volumes to identify the most popular brands and models.
Based on data from AutoTrader, the top three brands also included Toyota, BMW, and Volkswagen. They are not, however, in the same order as the report by Compare the Market.
On AutoTrader, Volkswagen was the brand most people searched for, followed by BMW and Toyota.
The top ten models that South Africans search for are also listed by the used car classifieds company.
The top ten models included two BMWs, the 1 Series and the 3 Series, and two Toyotas, the Hilux and Fortuner.
In the meantime, the top three car models on AutoTrader are Volkswagen models. The following is the complete list:
Hilux Toyota
Polo made by Volkswagen
Range Rover Ford
Three-Series BMW
The Mercedes-Benz C-Class
Volkswagen Golf
Volkswagen Polo Vivo
Subaru Outlander BMW 1 Series
The Ford Fiesta
