Before 2022, BMW had been South Africa’s top brand for four years in a row. In 2023, BMW took second place, and Volkswagen came third in South Africa.

Toyota also maintained its top position as the most searched car brand globally. Across the 155 countries that were analysed, Toyota was number one in 64 of them, while Tesla made an incredible leap onto the rankings, scoring second with 29 countries.

While Toyota has been the number one car brand globally for four years in a row, Tesla’s spectacular comeback saw Toyota’s lead shorten from 69 countries in 2022 to 64 in 2023.

Tesla just beat out BMW, which was the top brand in 26 countries. The previous third-place winner Mercedes-Benz was pushed off the podium altogether, coming fifth with six countries. Audi was ranked fourth being the number one brand in seven countries for 2023.

The image below shows the number one brand in each of the 155 countries analysed by Compare the Market.

Image supplied

Compare the Market’s general manager of General Insurance, Adrian Taylor, notes that car insurance is important no matter what you drive.

“Regardless of how new or what type of vehicle your car is, car insurance is a financial safety net that can help if something goes wrong. Cars are a vital method of transport across the world, which is why an insurance policy to protect from insured events like theft, storm and collisions is important,” Taylor explains.

To see more information, including a breakdown of results in each country, visit: https://www.comparethemarket.com.au/car-insurance/features/most-searched-car-brands-2023/.