These were among some of the findings by iPrice, a meta-search website, which sifted through and analysed the data on Google search interests. during the period of March-May 2020, which was compared against the December 2019-February 2020 period.
According to iPrice, this indicated that people in South-East Asia value affordable yet high quality cars.
Not surprisingly, Perodua and Proton were ranked at the top in Malaysia, accounting for 74,000 & 60,500 of search interests respectively.
With interstate travel finally allowed, it was also discovered that the majority of Malaysian motorists preferred SUVs and sedans instead of other automobile body types to drive out of state.
Besides Honda, Toyota and Mitsubishi were also on the minds of many in the region following the imposed lockdown measures. Google data indicated that Toyota was the most searched marque in the Philippines.
Among the most popular models searched in general were Honda (Civic Type R, City, Accord, and Jazz), Toyota (Corolla Altis), and Mitsubishi (Eclipse & Attrage).
The Continental players were very much in the game as searches for BMW and Mercedes-Benz cars jumped by 50% during the two timeframes under comparison. The Audi brand saw a substantial increase at 49% during the March-May period, said iPrice.
Although US electric car maker Tesla was the fifth most popular searched marque in the region, the company snagged the top spot in Singapore and Hong Kong. iPrice attributed this to the fact that Singapore and Hong Kong were strong proponents of reducing pollution through the use of electric cars by 2050. In Hong Kong alone, Tesla attracted an average of 246,000 search interests.
According to iPrice, it collected Google search data based on a list of keywords of 22 car brands in South-East Asia during the periods before and after the lockdowns. Data on the type of cars were obtained based on the keywords such as “SUV,” “MPV,” “WGN (wagon),” “Hatch,” “Sedans,” and “Coupe.”
> This content is adapted from a source article by iPrice.
