Internet users are on an auto overdrive on Google search!

Search engine Google released a report on the auto sector, providing deep insights into consumer search trends online. The top five states in terms of auto expo queries in 2014 so far have been New Delhi, Maharashtra, Karnataka, Uttar Pradesh and Tamil Nadu.

Online search trends usually mirror the consumer trends offline: this is further clearly evident through the fact that Maruti is the top searched car brand, closely followed by Hyundai, Mahindra, Honda and Tata, noted the report.

Analysing the search trends in the automotive category on Google, some interesting highlights were reported. Normally, the searches related to Auto Expo are seen to peak during the week before the Auto Expo and reach to about 200 times of a normal week, the peak is observed to be fading out in about 6-8 weeks.

The peak is expected to be much higher this time in 2014 due to a phenomenal increase in the number of internet users since the last Auto Expo, according to the company.

On the usual automotive query trends, the report said that overall auto queries in India have taken a leap by crossing a remarkable milestone in the year 2013, bringing India into the top 12 list of countries in terms of absolute number of searches.

Auto queries grew over 250 per cent plus on mobile devices, showing the popular trend of a fast growing internet audience on mobile devices.

The utility vehicles segment has been the most searched car segment for the past two years, followed closely by the compact car segment. In 2013, Maruti Swift was the most searched car across all car segments.

In terms of a mini car, it was Maruti Alto/800, closely followed by Maruti’s own WagonR. In the compact segment, it was Maruti Swift, far ahead of its competition in this segment, the report noted.

In the mid-size category it was Honda City, while in utility vehicles, two vehicles Mahindra Scorpio and Ford Ecosport have seen similar number of queries, closely followed by Tata Safari and Storme, noted the report.

Stating that a major shift in the consumer search patterns has been seen in the past few years, the report added that generic searches have surpassed brand queries, moving from about 10 per cent in 2008 to over 50 per cent in 2013.

The report added that about 35 per cent to 40 per cent of the most relevant auto queries came from mobile devices in 2013, while in December 2013, 2 million hours were spent browsing automotive content online, and over 30,000 hours of auto video content consumed, the report added.

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