Last Year's Trending SUVs, Hyundai 'Palisade' and Kia 'Mohave' Rank 1st and 2nd

[Asia Economy Reporter Kiho Sung] With Genesis's GV80 and Korea GM's Trailblazer launched as the first domestic brand cars in 2020, it has been revealed that the large sport utility vehicle (SUV) that attracted the most consumer interest last year was Hyundai Motor Group's 'Palisade.' Additionally, consumer favorability was found to be highest for Mercedes-Benz's 'GLE Class.'

The Global Big Data Research Institute announced on the 20th that it conducted a comparative analysis of the total online information volume (=consumer interest) and big data sentiment words (=consumer favorability) for large SUVs sold domestically over the past year.

According to the survey results, Hyundai Motor's 'Palisade,' first unveiled in November 2018, ranked first with a total online information volume of 197,130 cases in 2019, followed by Kia Motors' 'Mohave' with 183,453 cases, showing steady consumer interest.

Next, the BMW X5 recorded the third highest information volume with 42,507 cases, but there was a significant gap compared to the first and second groups. Chevrolet Traverse had 41,852 cases, Genesis GV80 26,392 cases, Land Rover Discovery 25,542 cases, Mercedes-Benz GLE Class 23,359 cases, Honda Pilot 8,769 cases, and Lexus RX350 6,166 cases in order.

Considering that the Traverse began domestic sales in September last year, it performed well in terms of consumer interest.

Looking at the monthly information volume of large SUVs, the Palisade shows a decline in consumer interest in the second half of the year, whereas the Mohave's consumer interest increases during the same period.

Mercedes-Benz GLE Class also saw an increase of about 1,000 cases per month on average in the second half compared to the first half, and BMW X5 maintained steady interest throughout the year, showing a trend of growing consumer attention. On the other hand, Land Rover Discovery, Honda Pilot, and Lexus RX350 experienced a slight decrease in consumer interest in the second half.

Meanwhile, the Genesis GV80, released on the 15th, showed about 2,000 cases of information volume in January last year, one year before its launch, and began to increase sharply from September last year, five months before its release. This pre-launch interest is considered to have laid the foundation for achieving 15,000 contracts on the first day.

Among these models, the large SUV with the highest consumer favorability last year was Mercedes-Benz's 'GLE Class,' with a positive rate reaching as high as 56.08%. Conversely, the negative rate was only 8.07%.

The second highest positive rate was Hyundai Palisade at 53.96%, followed by Kia Mohave at 51.77%, Honda Pilot at 51.40%, RX350 at 50.94%, BMW X5 at 48.15%, Land Rover Discovery at 47.46%, and Traverse at 47.03%.

A representative from the research institute stated, "As seen in big data, consumers are now focusing on practical vehicle specifications and performance as well as reasonable consumption based on vehicle price," adding, "With domestic SUVs offering excellent cost-effectiveness, attention is focused on the success of the premium 'Genesis GV80.'"

This survey included the Genesis GV80 in the 2019 consumer interest study despite it being pre-market last year, as it showed considerable information volume. Also, when selecting 'large SUV' models, the criteria were based on 'vehicle length and engine displacement,' not price. Specifically, the survey targeted SUVs with at least one detailed model having an engine displacement of 2,901cc or more (around 3,000cc class) and a vehicle length (overall length) of 4,800mm or more. Since price was not considered, the survey did not focus solely on high-priced 'luxury SUVs.'

The survey period was from January to December 2019, and the channels surveyed included 12 types: news, communities, blogs, cafes, YouTube, Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, KakaoStory, Knowledge iN, companies/organizations, and government/public sectors.

The models meeting the 'large SUV criteria' in alphabetical order are BMW X5, Kia Mohave, Land Rover Discovery, Lexus RX350, Mercedes-Benz GLE Class, Chevrolet Traverse, Genesis GV80, Hyundai Palisade, and Honda Pilot.

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.