In the recent Indian automobile industry report released by the Google, Maruti, Honda and Hyundai have turned out the most searched car brands online by the Indians. Surprisingly, the popular European brands like Volkswagen and Fiat have found place at the bottom of the list.
According to the search engine giant, the online search volume related to vehicles on Google search surged by as much as 110 percent and 84 percent, in year 2009 and 2010 (year on year), respectively.
Speaking to the reporters on Tuesday, Google India Vice- President and MD Rajan Anandan said, "The report shows how crucial the Internet has become in influencing purchase decisions of the consumers. More and more people are now online to research on new launches, price comparison, viewing specifications, etc."
According to Google, in the period of January 2010 to May 2011, the largest Indian automobile maker Maruti, which accounts for over 50 percent market share of the total car sales in the country, turned out the most searched car maker in the country. Maruti was followed by the Japanese auto giant Honda and South Korean Hyundai, at second and third sports respectively.
While the US auto giant General Motors found berth at 4th place, the country’s largest vehicle maker Tata Motors was the fifth highest searched car maker in the country. The 6th and 7th spot was taken by Toyota and Ford, respectively. The Volkswagen and Fiat were at the bottom two spots, at 8th and 9th slot.
The cars in the price range of Rs 2 to 6 lakh were the most searched cars in the country. The Maruti Alto, Ford Figo and Hyundai i10 were the top three search cars on Google in this period.
