The automotive sector and gaming sector have close ties. According to data collected by YouGov Profiles, racing games are the fourth most popular category of games played on consoles or PCs among Brits.
In light of the recent launch of Forza Horizon 5 and the upcoming release of Gran Turismo 7 next quarter, we look at the car brands that are resonating among video gamers in Great Britain and the United States this holiday season. We dip into data from YouGov BrandIndex to list out the top brands that are generating Buzz among gamers in each market.
A car brand’s Buzz score is a net measure based on responses to two questions: “Over the past two weeks, which of the following car makers have you heard something positive about?” and “Now which of the following car makers have you heard something negative about?”. By calculating the difference between these two scores, we create our Buzz metric.
Gamers in this piece are defined as those who play video games for at least an hour per week.
Ford tops the Buzz score ranking among video gamers in the US, with a score of 17.9. The car maker recently launched two popular models – Mustang Mach E and 1965 Mustang Shelby GT350R – on Rocket League.
Jeep (14.6) lands the second spot, with Chevrolet (13.5) coming in third. Toyota, which has the highest Buzz score among the general American population over the last 30 days at 19.4, scores 12.9 among gamers during the same period. The next two spots on the list are also occupied by Japanese brands – Honda (11.8) and Subaru (10.6). Honda recently launched the Honda EvoTrack mobile game, which allows players to take even some soon-to-be-released models for a spin.
General Motors takes the seventh spot with a score of 10.5, followed by Nissan (8.6), Lexus (7.7) and Volvo (6.3).
Video gamers in Britain are generally far less likely to have heard positive things about car brands, the Buzz metric reveals. Mercedes-Benz, which tops the list among British gamers, scores just 4.6. The Germany-headquartered carmaker is a partner of the game publisher, Riot Games and recently unveiled a commemorative championship ring for the 2021 League of Legends World Championship.
Škoda (4), Ford (4), Kia (3.2) and Lexus (3.2) are the other brands that make up the top five table among British gamers. During the same period, Škoda scored only 2 points with the general population. The uptick among gamers might have to do with the brand’s e-sport activations, such as the Škoda Motorsport eChallenge.
Toyota (3.1) claims the sixth spot, followed by Range Rover (3.0) and Honda (2.7). The German duo of Porsche (2.6) and Volkswagen (2.4) round out the top ten list of car makers among British gamers.
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Methodology: Buzz score is based on the questions: “Over the past two weeks, which of the following car brands have you heard something positive about?” and “Now which of the following car brands have you heard something negative about?” and delivered as a net score between –100 and +100. Scores reported represent the chance between the 30-day daily average between November 14 – December 13, 2021. Scores are based on an average sample size 337 (US) and 224 (GB) adults who play video games one hour per week or more. Daily figures are based on a four-week moving average. Learn more about BrandIndex.
