Tesla and Honda most searched vehicles ahead of spring market

The most anticipated month for dealerships is right around the corner as drivers get ready to trade in their keys for a new ride. If you’re not sure what is hot on the market, Hippo Leasing released new data showing the most searched for vehicles in the U.S. and U.K.

The data, which was compiled from Google search volumes, includes 340 new electric, hybrid and ICE (internal combustion engine) vehicles of the most sought-after makes and models in 2024. 

In the U.S., the Tesla Model 3 dominates as the most searched car model in the last six months. The car had more than 3.8 million searches between August 2023 and January 2024. Right behind it with just over 3.6 million searches were the Honda CR-V and the Honda Civic.

The top 10 most searched car models in the last six months in the U.S.:

1. Tesla Model 3
2. Honda CR-V
3. Honda Civic
4. Toyota Rav4
5. Tesla Model Y
6. Jeep Wrangler
7. Mazda CX5
8. Porsche 911
9. Toyota Corolla
10. Jeep Grand Cherokee

However, in the U.K., the most searched car model in the last six months was the Nissan Qashqai. It had 815,000 searches while the Kia Sportage and Audi A3 rounded out the top three. According to the data, drivers were searching for hybrid and plug-in hybrid powertrain options for the Kia Sportage. Below is the top 10 from the U.K. data.

1. Nissan Qashqai
2. KIA Sportage
3. Audi A3
4. Audi A1
5. Ford Fiesta
6. Fiat 500
7. Volkswagen Tiguan
8. Ford Puma
9. Land Rover Defender
10. BMW 1 Series 

Hippo Leasing also released the year-over-year results, which showed the Lexus LBX is popular in both markets (though it's not coming to the United States). The self-charging hybrid compact SUV jumped more than 45,000% compared to the previous year. Rounding out the top three is the Volvo EX30 with a 1,986% increase and the Lexus LM which had a 1,326% increase from last year.