If shopping the most popular car brands is something you like to do when buying a new vehicle, you'll likely find this list helpful. Kelley Blue Book's latest quarterly Brand Watch lists the most-shopped brands in both the luxury and non-luxury segments.
The Q3 2022 Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch ranks Toyota as the number one non-luxury brand once again, widening its lead over Q2. BMW remains the top luxury brand. On the other hand, Tesla saw its ranking plummet.
"BMW and Toyota continue to stand firm in their positions as the most-shopped luxury and non-luxury brands (respectively), and both automakers increased their lead over the competition during Q3 2022," said Vanessa Ton, senior research and market intelligence manager at Cox Automotive. "The third quarter also saw a noteworthy drop in consideration for Tesla, which could have been caused by a number of factors. Increased competition from other automakers offering more new electric vehicles, price hikes and a lack of new products all may have contributed to Tesla's considerable decline. However, we have seen Tesla's shopping numbers drop before and they always eventually rebound. It will be interesting to see if they rebound more slowly or quickly this time around."
KBB researchers also say the Brand Watch indicates that consideration for traditional cars rebounded to pre-pandemic levels during Q3.
Luxury
BMW Widens Lead as Most-Shopped Luxury Brand
KBB says BMW widened its lead in the third quarter as the most-shopped luxury brand, with 22% of luxury shoppers considering BMW (up one percentage point from Q2 2022). BMW also dominated the Top 10 list of most-shopped luxury models with three vehicles, including the 3 Series, 5 Series and X5.
Meanwhile, Lexus, Cadillac, Audi and Mercedes-Benz (in that order) ranked behind BMW (and all ahead of Tesla) with the same percentage of shopping consideration. Cadillac and Lexus have continued to battle for second place for the last three quarters, and the Cadillac Escalade remained the No. 1 most-shopped luxury vehicle for the third straight quarter.
Other brands gaining consideration in Q3 include Buick, Genesis and Porsche.
Interest in Tesla Dropped Considerably in Q3
There was a dip in shopper interest for Tesla in Q3 according to the KBB Brand Watch survey. Tesla fell to sixth from fifth in the rankings of most-shopped luxury brands, with 12% of all luxury shoppers considering a Tesla – down 3 percentage points from Q2 2022 and notably the largest quarter-over-quarter loss for any luxury brand. Shopping consideration for the Model 3 sedan declined by 10% from the second quarter, and the Tesla Model Y and Model S both fell off the Top 10 most-shopped luxury vehicle list for the first time in two years.
Non-Luxury
Supply-Constrained Toyota Widens Lead Over Ford, Chevrolet
Low inventory didn't stop Toyota from taking the lead spot again in the non-luxury segment. KBB says despite having one of the lowest inventory levels in the U.S. automotive industry, Toyota widened its lead in shopping consideration over Ford and Chevrolet among non-luxury shoppers in Q3. Of all non-luxury shoppers, 35% considered a Toyota in Q3 2022, the same percentage as the previous quarter. Toyota says the RAV4 Hybrid soared 21 percent.
No. 2 Ford and No. 3 Chevrolet each dropped by 1 percentage point quarter over quarter to 30% and 29%, respectively.
Other brands gaining consideration in Q3 include Jeep, Subaru and Volkswagen.
High Gas Prices Boost Shopping for Traditional Cars
Another noteworthy finding is that shopper interest in traditional cars rebounded to pre-pandemic levels during Q3 2022, due to high gas prices. KBB says 40% of all non-luxury shoppers considered a car. Just a year ago, less than a third did so. Researchers attribute the boost to high gas prices since cars are typically more fuel efficient than SUVs and trucks.
Still, SUVs remain the most popular vehicles among shoppers. KBB says two-thirds of all non-luxury shoppers considered one. Smaller, more fuel-efficient SUVs dominated by Toyota and Honda were the most shopped, with the Honda CR-V, Toyota RAV4 and Toyota RAV4 Hybrid holding the top three spots, respectively. About a third of shoppers considered a pickup truck, with the Ford F-150 returning to its top position in Q3 2022 as the most-shopped pickup.
About the Study
KBB describes its Brand Watch reporter as a "consumer perception survey that also weaves in shopping behavior to determine how vehicle brands and models stack up with segment competitors when it comes to consumer shopping. " It also takes a look at electrified vehicle shopping. KBB says its latest report included surveying both mobile and desktop users to provide an even broader view of vehicle shopping. Prior to Q1 2022, the survey only included results from desktop users.
See the Latest Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch Reports:
Q3 2022 Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch Report: Non-Luxury
Q3 2022 Kelley Blue Book Brand Watch Report: Luxury
