2023 was yet another pivotal year for EVs as the segment began to expand beyond early adopters and into the early majority. What should come as no surprise to most people is that American automaker Tesla dominated Google Trends search data for EVs last year. Still, gas and hybrid specialist Toyota remained the most searched auto brand, not by any specific state.
Table of contents
Studying the most searched auto and EV brands online
While EVs continue to dominate the global mobility conversation, there are still plenty of hurdles to overcome before we can truly reach mass adoption. While the percentage of EVs continues to grow on roads around the US and the planet as a whole, that segment still makes up a minority compared to traditional combustion vehicles.
In fact, four of the ten most searched automotive brands in 2023 had one or fewer battery electric vehicles (BEVs) available in the US market last year. to determine these comparisons, MarketWatch Guidesput together its own study of the top searched automotive brands and their respective models using key Google data. Here’s how it was gathered.
Methodology
The data used in MarketWatch Guides’ study consisted of Google Trends search volume data in the US across 12 months between September 2022 and September 2023. The key search terms analyzed were automotive-related and pertained to electric and combustion car makes and models.
In order to determine which terms were most and least associated with each state, MarketWatch either ranked by total search volume in millions, search volume per capita, or compared state data to the average for all of the US.
As a result, the highest above-average searches determined the most associated terms to each state, while the lowest below-average searches enabled the least associated terms.
2023 Toyota bZ4X (Source: Toyota)
Toyota was the most searched brand in the US
Toyota has led global market share in automotive for years, even as more and more brands go all-electric. Speaking of electric, Tesla continues to dominate the EV market in the US, but has even gained ground on legacy automakers like GM, Ford, and of course Toyota.
Although Toyota hails itself as an “electrified” brand, it currently only offers one fully electric model in the US – the bZ4X. Still, the makers of the Prius, RAV4, and Tacoma dominated the searches on Google, according to MarketWatch Guides’ study.
Here’s how the top ten most searched automakers in the US broke down:
Automaker
Google Search Volume*
1.
Toyota
37.6 million
2.
Tesla
34.6 million
3.
Honda
22.2 million
4.
Ford
20.3 million
5.
Hyundai
18.6 million
6.
RAM
17.1 million
7.
BMW
15.7 million
8.
Kia
15.4 million
9.
Mercedes-Benz
15.1 million
10.
Subaru
14.9 million
* – In millions, from September 2022 to September 2023
While Toyota garnered over 3 million more US Google searches than runner-up Tesla, the Japanese automaker was not the most searched brand in any single state compared to the national average, nor was it the least searched marque in any of those territories either.
On the other hand, Tesla was the most popular automaker in one state – Nevada. That being said, it was also the least associated automaker in a whopping eleven states compared to the national average:
Alabama
Arkansas
Indiana
Kansas
Kentucky
New Hampshire
Ohio
Oklahoma
South Carolina
Tennessee
Wisconsin
Despite being the least searched brand in one-fifth of the country, Tesla is still a huge part of the national automotive conversation online and remains the darling of the EV segment (although many other competitors are catching up).
(Source: Tesla)
Tesla dominates the most searched for EVs in the US
While Tesla may have come in second to Toyota in overall Google search volume during the 12-month study, its four most popular models dominate MarketWatch’s top-ten list of most searched EVs in the US. Here’s the full list:
* – In millions, from September 2022 to September 2023
Note that when data from this study was gathered, the Tesla Cybertruck hadn’t launched and begun deliveries yet; otherwise, there’s a solid chance that all five of Tesla’s available passenger EVs crack the top ten in most searched in the US.
Even amongst the four Tesla models, there is a huge drop in searches between the more affordable Model Y and Model 3 EVs and the longer-running and more premium X and S models – more than half.
The bottom five behind Tesla are all pretty evenly spaced in terms of most searched volume and is on par with the more popular and established models we at Electrek tend to cover regularly. The way the EV landscape if shaping the rest of the industry, imploring more and more consumers to seek more details, it will be interesting to see how Google search data compares a year from now.
I’d personally wager Toyota loses its top spot to Tesla and we see automakers like Hyundai and Kia garner a larger audience of Google users. We will check in again next year!
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Like a 90s “gifted” kid that was supposed to be a lot of things, the electric Jeep Wagoneer S never really found its place — but when dealers started discounting the Jeep brands forward-looking flagship by nearly $25,000 back in June, I wrote that it might be time to give the go-fast Wagoneer S a second look.
Whether we’re talking about Mercedes-Benz, Cerberus, Fiat, or even Enzo Ferrari, outsiders have labeled Jeep as a potentially premium brand that could, “if managed properly,” command luxury-level prices all over the globe. That hasn’t happened, and Stellantis is just the latest in a long line of companies to sink massive capital into the brand only to realize that people will not, in fact, spend Mercedes money on a Jeep.
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That said, the Jeep Wagoneer S is not a bad car (and neither is its totally different, hideously massive, ICE-powered Wagoneer sibling, frankly). Built on the same Stellantis STLA Large vehicle platform that underpins the sporty Charger Daytona EVs, the confusingly-named Wagoneer S packs dual electric motors putting out almost 600 hp. That’s good enough to scoot the ‘ute 0 to 60 mph in a stomach-turning 3.5 seconds and enough, on paper, to convince Stellantis executives that they had developed a real, market-ready alternative to the Tesla Model Y.
With the wrong name and a sky-high starting price of $66,995 (not including the $1,795 destination fee), however, that demand didn’t materialize, leaving the Wagoneer S languishing on dealer lots across the country.
That could be about to change, however, thanks to big discounts on Wagoneer S being reported at CDJR dealers in several states:
Jeff Belzer’s in Minnesota has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $39,758 ($28,032 off)
Troncalli CDJR in Georgia has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,590 MSRP for $42,697 ($24,893 off)
Whitewater CDJR in Minnesota has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $43,846 ($23,944 off)
Antioch CDJR in Illinois has a 2025 Wagoneer S Limited with a $67,790 MSRP for $44,540 ($23,250 off)
“Stellantis bet big on electric versions of iconic American brands like Jeep and Dodge, but consumers aren’t buying the premise,” writes CDG’s Marcus Amick. “(Stellantis’ dealer body) is now stuck with expensive EVs that need huge discounts to move, eating into already thin margins while competitors focus on [more] profitable gas-powered vehicles.”
All of which is to say: if you’ve found yourself drawn to the Jeep Wagoneer S, but couldn’t quite stomach the $70,000+ window stickers, you might want to check in with your local Jeep dealer and see how you feel about it at a JCPenneys-like 30% off!
Jeep Wagoneer S gallery
Original content from Electrek; images via Stellantis.
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Multinational equipment brand SANY just launched a clever new 50-ton reach stacker that pairs gravity and an F1-style KERS system to generate electricity, improve operating efficiency, and reduce costs. The best part: they’re putting that smart tech to work by helping clean up (and shore up) the grid.
Short for Kinetic Energy Recovery System, KERS was a staple of Formula 1 in the late aught and 2010s. Essentially an advanced form of regenerative braking, KERS captured the kinetic energy of a car at speed that would normally be lost as heat when the brake pads pressed against the brake discs. Instead of heat, KERS converted that energy into electricity (storing it in a battery or flywheel), to be deployed later.
Sebastian Vettel explains KERS
4x WDC Sebastian Vettel explains KERS.
In practice, KERS gave drivers an extra boost of horsepower at the push of a button, enabling them to attack or defend their position on track and adding a fresh strategic element to the sport. In SANY’s case, that stored power is fed back into the reach stacker’s electric hydraulic system, reducing pressure loss across the high-pressure setup by 50%, and lowering the machine’s overall energy consumption by more than 60%.
Energy recovery is a key feature. The potential energy of the boom, lifting gear and energy storage cabinets during the boom’s descent can be recovered efficiently with an overall recovery efficiency of over 65%. That means every 1 kWh of consumption in lifting can be recovered by 0.4 kWh during descent.
The 50t reach stacker is available with a 512 kWh swappable battery pack that’s compatible with other SANY heavy equipment assets, and supports both DC fast charging when swapping isn’t practical or (for whatever reason) desirable.
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On a single charge and backed by the onboard KERS, that’s good enough for the machine can lift and move containers for more than 7 continuous hours, which SANY claims significantly reducing downtime for charging compared to other, similar equipment assets.
The new SANY reach stacker can stack six 50-ton containers, greatly enhancing a site’s container and battery storage density within a limited space. The first units will reach unnamed customers building out a utility-scale energy storage project by the end of this month.
Regardless of which one you choose, it seems like the available options for reach stacker operators are just getting better and better!
SOURCE | IMAGES: SANY.
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EVs are great, and can unlock more transportation convenience with the ease of charging at home. But for apartment-dwellers, this can be a complicated conversation. So a nonprofit called Forth is here to help, through its Charge at Home program.
One of the main benefits of an electric vehicle is in the convenience of owning and charging the car in the place it spends most of its time. Instead of having to go out of your way to fuel it, you just park it at home, in the same place it spends at least 8 hours a day, and you leave the house every day with a full charge.
But this benefit only applies to those with a consistent parking space which they can easily install charging at. When talking about owners who live in apartment buildings, it can sometimes get more complicated.
While certain states have passed “right to charge” laws to give apartment-dwellers a solution for home charging, apartment charging is nevertheless a bit of a patchwork solution so far.
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And as a result of this, EV ownership among apartment renters lags behind that of single-family homeowners. It’s clear that apartments are holding back people from buying EVs, and that’s bad – lots of people live in apartments, and the gas those cars use pollutes the air just as much as any other.
Certain areas where EVs have hit a point of critical mass (namely, the large California cities) have pretty good EV ownership among renters, but it could still be better. And residents are clamoring more and more for easy EV charging in apartment communities.
So, Forth, a nonprofit advocating for equitable access to clean transportation, set up a program called Charge at Home, which is meant to connect renters, apartment building owners or other decisionmakers with resources to help install chargers at multifamily properties.
The site lets you select your situation – a resident or a decisionmaker for a new or existing multifamily development – and then gives you access to tools for your specific situation, whether you be a resident and developer.
There are a lot of considerations for each of these projects, so it can be helpful to have someone with experience to help you go over it all. Personally, when talking to friends about getting an EV, charging considerations are usually the thing that takes up the bulk of the conversation.
So if the toolkits are still too daunting for you, Charge at Home is offering free charging consultations for multifamily developers, owners, property managers and HOAs.
The charging consultations have been made possible by funding from the Department of Energy, though that funding only runs through the end of September – so get your requests in soon. Forth may still offer consultations afterwards, but is still uncertain about funding so doesn’t want to promise anything – but the website will remain up for people to submit questions and find information, whether or not free consultations stick around.
But at the very least, as Forth points out, whether a multifamily development is interested in having EV charging at this moment or not, any developer should think about having the infrastructure, conduit and capacity ready to go for future install of EV chargers, and should consider the needs of current residents who are likely already considering EVs today.
It’s going to be necessary to install this capacity at some point, and doing so earlier can help save money down the line, make your development more attractive to renters today, and allow more renters to make the switch to cleaner transportation which helps air quality and to reduce climate change, both of which harm everyone on the planet.
Electrek’s Take
I’ve long said that the only real problem with EVs is the problem of access to consistent charging for people who don’t have their own garage. Whether this be apartment-dwellers, street-parkers or the like, the electric car charging experience is often less-than-ideal outside of single family homes, at least in North America.
There are workarounds available, like charging at work, or using Superchargers in “third places” where you often spend time, but these still aren’t optimal. The best thing is just to charge your car wherever it spends most of its time, which is your home. When you do that, EVs outshine everything in convenience.
We’ve highlighted some projects before which showed how reasonable it can be to install charging for developments. Every project is going to have its complexities, but when you see projects like this condo complex that managed to install chargers for just $405 per parking spot, all of a sudden it becomes a no-brainer not to have EV charging.
But the fact is, there just aren’t enough apartment complexes out there which have EV charging. So if Forth’s program can help residents or landlords with that, it can go a long way towards solving the only real problem with EVs.
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