These cars have gone from 0-62 million views and likes - and represent the web’s most VIRAL motors.

It’s not just videos of cats or skateboarding bulldogs that win the internet - because the world’s most sought-after vehicles also get plenty of clicks.

Select Car Leasing experts have crunched the numbers to find the most viral cars and vehicle manufacturers across a number of platforms - including TikTok, Instagram and Google.

And while German manufacturer BMW dominates both Insta and TikTok, Audi accelerates away from the competition when it comes to monthly worldwide Google searches.

Meanwhile Tesla beats battery-powered pickup pioneers Rivian in the battle of the most viral electric vehicles (EVs).

To create our ‘most viral’ run-down, we analysed:

• Google Searches
• TikTok Views
• TikTok Hashtags
• Instagram Followers
• Instagram Hashtags

Instagram has long been a place for people to park their favourite car snaps and videos. But with so many posts flooding the ‘gram’, which brands have proven to be the most popular?

We created a special scoring system, based on manufacturer follower count and hashtag analysis.

BMW leads the way as the most popular car brand on Instagram, with a total score of 19.9 out of 20 - almost full marks.

Accelerating into second place is Porsche, with the German performance specialists receiving a total Instagram score of 18.9 out of 20.

Meanwhile Ferrari takes third position, with the ‘Prancing Horse’ scoring 18.6 out of 20 for its popularity on Instagram. 

Whether it’s glamorous reveals, or drivers showing off their drifting skills, these are the wheels monopolising our reels.

BMW once again secures the No.1 spot, taking the crown as the most popular car brand on TikTok with an impressive total score of 19.7 out of 20 (based on our unique analysis of ‘TikTok Discover’ views and hashtags).

Tailgating BMW as the second most popular car brand on TikTok is Ford, with a respectable total score of 19.2 out of 20.

It’s easy to see the Ford appeal - as it’s a manufacturer that offers something for everyone, from affordable hatchbacks like the Fiesta, to thundering muscle cars like the Mustang.

Dependable Japanese car brand Honda cruises into third place, with an overall score of 19.1 out of 20.

Like Ford, Honda appeals to a host of different lease customers, offering everything from award-winning hot hatches - the Civic Type R- to funky all-electric superminis like the Honda e.

Audi is crowned the most-searched car brand on Google, with an unbeatable score of 10 out of 10 (based on monthly search data gleaned from search traffic specialists ‘ahrefs’).

The premium German brand offers a range of vehicles from cutting-edge hatchbacks to sumptuous all-electric coupes like the e-tron GT.

With 11 million Google Searches every month, on average, Audi’s popularity shows no signs of slowing down… just like its poster-worthy R8 supercar.

Joining Audi in joint first place is Jaguar, with 11 million monthly searches.

And Honda pulls into third place, overtaking the likes of Ford, Jeep and Lexus, as one of the most searched-for car brands on Google, scoring 9.9 out of 10.

With precision engineering and an extensive choice of models to choose from, it’s no surprise that Honda has 8.3 million people searching for the brand on Google per month.

The internet’s most popular EV car brands 

Electric vehicles, or ‘EVs’, are taking the world by storm - and all the major players are joining the market.

But what are the go-to brands that everyone is searching for when it comes to EVs?

Charged and ready, Tesla takes the top spot as the internet’s most popular EV car brand, scoring full marks with 50 out of 50 (based on combined stats from Instagram, TikTok, and ahrefs data).

Tesla’s range includes the Model X and Model Y SUVs, as well as the Model S and Model 3 saloons.

Shifting up a gear and securing their spot as the second most popular EV car on the internet is Rivian, with a total score of 39.2 out of 50.

The American electric car manufacturer, known for its R1T pickup and R1S SUV, has 1.4 million people searching for it on Google every month, giving it a Google Searches score of 9.2/10.

While Rivian vehicles haven’t yet arrived in the UK, you might have seen the pickups being used in the recent adventure documentary Long Way Up, which saw motorcycle enthusiasts Ewan McGregor and Charley Boorman travelling from the southern tip of South America to California.

Emerging as the third electric car brand to be a hit on the internet is Chinese EV firm NIO, with a total score of 38.5 out of 50. NIO is due to enter the UK car market later this year, most likely with the ET7 saloon, so watch this space!

Tesla takes the lead as the most popular EV car model on the web, overall, with its Model 3, scoring 38.5/40 (again based on an analysis of combined info from Instagram, TikTok and ahrefs data).

The Model 3 - which has a range of up to 374 miles between charges in ‘Long Range’ form - gets a Google Searches score of 10/10 (2.1 million monthly searches).

The electric Fiat 500 lands in second place for its online popularity, with a respectable score of 36.7 out of 40.

The Fiat 500 marries retro charm with sophisticated tech, and also manages a range of up to 199 miles between charges.

Tesla takes another spot in the top three with its Model Y SUV - scoring an impressive 35.6/40 for its popularity on the internet.

The Model Y was also the UK’s third best-selling car in 2022.

Ranking as the most popular classic car on the internet is the iconic McLaren F1 - first launched in 1992 - with a showstopping score of 37.6 out of 40 (based on Instagram, TikTok and ahrefs data).

It’s considered among many to be the best supercar of all time, with only 106 of the models being built up until 1998. 

The unmistakable Volkswagen Beetle, with a total score of 35.3 out of 40, takes second place.

The legendary vehicle is the longest-produced car in history, first made in 1938 and ultimately withdrawn in 2019.

Meanwhile the Chevrolet Camaro emerges as the third-most-popular classic car on the internet, with an overall score of 35.3 out of 40.

The American pony car - first launched in 1966 and still made in the US - combines classic style with high performance, and has 486,000 people searching for it on Google, globally, every month.

Further information below: 

Methodology: The team at Select Car Leasing have provided a roundup of the most popular cars on the Internet.

Taking a seed list of different types of car brands, the various following factors were taken into consideration:

• The most popular car brands on Instagram - informed by account follower count and hashtag analysis.
• The most popular car brands on TikTok - informed by ‘TikTok Discover’ views and hashtag analysis.
• The most searched-for car brands - informed by AHREFs data.
• The Internet’s most popular EV car brands - informed by Instagram, TikTok and AHREFs data.
• The Internet’s most popular EV car models - informed by Instagram, TikTok and AHREFs data.
• The Internet’s most popular retro cars - informed by Instagram, TikTok and AHREFs data.

To determine the scoring, the team used a Normalising Formula, which looks at an entire category of data (e.g. number of Instagram followers) and scored the data relative to the highest and lowest numbers available.

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