‘Electric vehicle' was the ‘most discussed theme’ among leading automotive influencers on Twitter in the last quarter of 2019, GlobalData confirmed. The analytics specialist added that the number of ‘quarter-on-quarter’ tweets that related to these new, more environmentally friendly models increased by ‘more than 100%’.
The GlobalData Vehicle Manufacturers Influencer Platform provided the basis for such conclusions. It enabled the company to track experts and any discussions. For example, ‘Tesla Cybertruck’ was the ‘top conversation driver’ within the theme. Influencers discussed its ‘futuristic design’ plus its ‘self-driving features’.
Twitter hashtags
Furthermore, the automotive influencers particularly favoured certain ‘hashtags’ on the social media platform that related to electric vehicles, GlobalData said. The most popular hashtags were:
- #selfdriving, e.g. cars becoming increasingly autonomous
- #IoT (internet of things), e.g. connecting cars to the net
- #smartcity, e.g. infrastructure such as traffic control systems which communicate with vehicles to minimise congestion
- #batteries, e.g. higher capacity batteries that increase the range of electric cars between charges (and cut charge times).
Car companies
Tesla was the ‘most discussed company’ by leading automotive influencers. Why? Because it is synonymous with electric cars, it launched a new model, and it looks poised to increase its market share in the following years. Tesla was followed by more established brands such as: Daimler, PSA Group, Renault, and AB Volvo.
GlobalData Director of Automotive Consulting, Animesh Kumar, is not surprised electric vehicle was the ‘most discussed theme’ by automotive influencers on Twitter during Q4 of 2019. He emphasised:
‘With electrification being a key issue in several countries – and among original equipment manufacturers – and with new product developments, announcements, and model launches it is not surprising electric vehicle emerged as the most discussed topic.’
However, he suggested that ‘electric vehicle’ might not be the most discussed theme by influencers in the first quarter of 2020. Why? Because the coronavirus is likely to increasingly disrupt the supply chain of cars and components. China, for instance, is ‘on the forefront of battery technology’ and among the countries that has struggled to keep its population healthy. ‘Automotive supply chain’ should be the ‘top theme of discussion’, Mr Kumar concluded.
Electric vehicle market
In 2019, new electric car registrations increased alongside the associated chat on social media. In the United Kingdom, registrations rose 144% compared to 2018. That equated to 4,939 cars compared to only 1,540. Expect to now see such rises routinely. Fully electric vehicles will one day dominate the roads.