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Experian Hitwise reveals latest trends in automotive industry
Mini fastest moving Automotive brand online in the UK
Jaguar breaks into top 20 most searched for automotive brands
Ford and Volkswagen battle for top spot in Experian Hitwise Index
London, 28 July 2011 – Mini has emerged as the fastest moving brand in the second Experian Hitwise UK Automotive Brand Index, which reveals the 20 most popular automotive manufacturers online. In a decisive quarter for the industry, Jaguar also broke into the top 20, edging out Mitsubishi from the Index list.
Using UK Internet search data, the Index ranks the top manufacturers by searches for both brand and the top models produced by that manufacturer. Ford remained the most searched for automotive brand this quarter, but only by the narrowest of margins. Volkswagen’s strong performance brought the German manufacturer to within 0.08% of Ford for total automotive branded searches.
Mini fastest moving automotive brand, Jaguar breaks into the top 20
*New Car Registration data courtesy of The Society of Motor Manufacturers and Traders (SMMT) at www.smmt.co.uk
Between April 2011 and June 2011 Mini climbed four places in the Index to become the eighth most searched for automotive brand in the UK. Mini has also made significant gains in the last 12 months rising from 13th position in the same quarter last year. Jaguar has also had a good year, rising two places since last quarter to break into the top 20 brands and improving on its position from last year by four places. Jaguar’s success is largely attributable to two models in particular, the XF, which accounted for 2.95% of all Jaguar searches, and the XJ, which accounted for 1.17%.
Ford and Volkswagen battle for top spot
At the top of the Index, Ford and Volkswagen were locked in a very tight battle to be the most searched for automotive brand. Ford has consistently been the number one manufacturer by UK Internet searches, but this quarter Volkswagen came extremely close to toppling Ford from the top spot. Ford accounted for 10.70% of all branded automotive searches, whilst Volkswagen accounted for 10.62% of searches. Audi and BMW were also not far behind accounting for over 8.5% each of branded searches during this period.
Robin Goad, Director of Research at Experian Hitwise, commented: “Both Mini and Jaguar have had a strong quarter to see them climb in our Automotive Brand Index, and it is integrated online and offline marketing campaigns that are driving increased search behaviour for these top brands and models. Last quarter we said that the competition at the top of the Index was getting extremely fierce and today’s Index demonstrates just how tight the margins are between the top brands. The difference between first and fourth in the Index is now just over two percent of branded searches, and Ford is very close to being overtaken by Volkswagen. Understanding how to maximise the online potential of brands is incredibly powerful and, as the SMMT data shows, can have a real impact on sales and new registrations.”
ENDS
Contact:
Alexandra Banks
Digital PR Manager, Experian Marketing Services
+44 (0)7966 102 823
alexandra.banks@uk.experian.com
press.uk@hitwise.com
About Experian Hitwise
Experian Hitwise is the leading online competitive intelligence service. Experian Hitwise gives marketers a competitive advantage by providing daily insights on how 25 million Internet users around the world interact with more than 1 million Web sites. This external view helps companies grow and protect their businesses by identifying threats and opportunities as they develop. Experian Hitwise has more than 1,500 clients across numerous sectors, including financial services, media, travel and retail.
Experian Hitwise (FTS:EXPN), www.experianplc.com, operates in the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, New Zealand, Hong Kong, Singapore, Canada, France and Brazil. More information about Experian Hitwise is available at www.hitwise.com/uk.
For all the latest information and analysis on the Automotive industry online, you can download our quarterly report for free at www.hitwise.com/uk/registration-pages/auto-review. For up-to-date analysis of online trends, please visit the Experian Hitwise research blog at www.ilovedata.com and the Experian Hitwise Data Centre at www.hitwise.com/datacentre
About Experian
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