TikTok’s changed the landscape of social media, forcing other outlets to change the way they do business, but also lending automakers another venue to get their products in front of a new generation of current — and future — buyers.
And what has the TikTok’s public’s fancy right now? The Ford Maverick.
Ford new compact pickup, which is aimed at younger buyers, has generated 10.9 billion views. The results may not be all that surprising since the new truck is so popular, the automaker stopped taking orders for 2022 models in February. It’s only recently started taking them for the 2023 model year.
In second place is another Ford product, which remains eternally popular with car fans of all ages, the Mustang. It’s generated 10.7 billion views. The third-place finisher is another oldie, but it made a comeback in 2021 after a 17-year break, the Toyota Supra. The Japanese automaker’s classic sports car has 9.4 billion views.
Top cars doesn’t mean top brand
While Ford took the top two places for individual vehicles, it was BMW that generated the most interest as a brand.
The Bavarian performance luxury brand generated 49.2 billion views on TikTok. The most viewed BMW model on TikTok is the M5, which is the high-performance variant of the 5 Series, with 1.8 billion views.
Mercedes-Benz is second, but a distant one coming in with 27.1 billion views. The high-end luxury vehicle maker makes big profits on its big price-tag vehicles. The company most viewed vehicle is the S-Class, which got 720.1 million views.
There was a tie for third between Audi and Honda at 20.4 billion views each. Audi’s most viewed vehicle is the R8, with 1.4 billion views, while for Honda it’s the NSX with 501.7 million.
“TikTok has taken the motor industry by storm, with thousands of car-related videos uploaded every day,” said Alex Kindred, car insurance expert at Confused.com, which sponsored the study. “Users can be seen showcasing anything from new cars on the market to car washing tips, piquing the interest of car lovers around the world!
“With TikTok being such an inspirational platform, the latest model shared on the feed of a popular motoring TikToker may just influence users to upgrade their car to the most recent model.”
While some may dismiss TikTok as a fad, it posts some impressive numbers, including have 1 billion active monthly users. It was the most popular app downloaded globally in 2020 and 2021, and it has been installed 3 billion times. Additionally, it’s available in more than 150 countries and more than 40 languages.
If you pooled all the money from Tik Tok users, you may have the down payment on a used Yugo.
For all its image as the service catering to struggling Gen-Zers, that group (and those even younger) make up only about a third of its users. And more than a third are older than 40! So, there’s plenty of money there, Jim.
Paul E.