The British automotive industry is best known for premium and sports cars including Aston Martin, Bentley, Caterham Cars, Daimler, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lotus, McLaren, MG, Mini, Morgan and Rolls-Royce. Other car manufacturers with a major presence in the UK include Honda, Nissan, Toyota, Vauxhall, Alexander Dennis, Ford, GMM Luton, Leyland Trucks and London Taxis International.
In 2015, the British automotive industry hit a 10 year high by producing nearly 1.6M vehicles, up 3.9% from 2014, and 77.3% of those vehicles were exported. In 2015 the total turnover by vehicle manufacturers in the UK was a record £69.5bn, an increase of 7.3% on 2014.
WHAT ARE THE KEY FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE PURCHASING DECISIONS?
When purchasing a car there are a number of factors that can sway the decision making process from one brand to another. For example is it a safe car? Does it have the latest gadgets? Is it fuel efficient? How is the driveability? How much does it cost? We ran a series of queries analysing the last 3-6 months’ worth of social conversations in order to identify the key factors that influence purchasing decisions which we identified as:
WHO ARE THE TOP INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS IN THESE AREAS?
We extracted over 3.5M tweets from 11th May until 9th August 2016 mentioning each of the above topics and their associated keywords, in addition to mentions of “automotive” and “car”. We then ranked this list based on our Contextual Onalytica Rank of Influence (CORI). This methodology takes into account the 4 Rs of influencer marketing: Resonance (how much engagement they are driving), Relevance (how many times they tweet on topic), Reach (how many followers they have) and Reference (how many twitter lists they appear on). This then provides us with a ranked list of influencers and brands driving the social conversations within each of the topic areas that influence purchasing decisions.
The below lists contain the top 10 influencers and brands in each category, please download the full report to see who ranks beyond the top 10!
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INNOVATION INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @jasoncreation | Jason Burrows | Creation Agency | 100 |
| 2 | @tprstly | Theo Priestley | Alchemist Accelerator | 72.41 |
| 3 | @davidgcant | David Cant CMIOSH | Veritas Consulting | 58.96 |
| 4 | @alexanderwear | Alexander Sommer | WTVOX | 38.46 |
| 5 | @SteveFowler | Steve Fowler | Autoexpress | 37.78 |
| 6 | @LOMBARDI_GLORIA | Gloria Lombardi | Marginalia | 37.52 |
| 7 | @WallacePJW | Paul Wallace | Supercars of London | 36.25 |
| 8 | @Dwarfio | Russ Cockburn | Cucumber PR | 35.17 |
| 9 | @KirHammond | Kirsty Hammond | Link2Media | 33.12 |
| 10 | @Petercampbell1 | Peter Campbell | Financial Times | 27.04 |
INNOVATION BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @newscientist | New Scientist | 100 |
| 2 | @guardiantech | Guardian Tech | 93.42 |
| 3 | @sciencemuseum | Science Museum | 31.45 |
| 4 | @autocar | Autocar | 30.79 |
| 5 | @BMW_UK | BMW UK | 27.9 |
| 6 | @Jaguar | Jaguar | 38.05 |
| 7 | @Design_Week | Design Week | 27.12 |
| 8 | @GREATBritain | GREAT Britain | 15.78 |
| 9 | @AutoExpress | Auto Express | 15.53 |
| 10 | @AudiUKPress | Audi UK Press Office | 11.66 |
SAFETY INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @DavidDjward | David Ward | Global NCAP | 100 |
| 2 | @RoyLilley | Roy Lilley | NHS Managers.net | 42.22 |
| 3 | @Frances_Coppola | (((FrancesCoppola))) | Forbes | 45.74 |
| 4 | @prashantrao | Prashant Rao | NY Times | 38.22 |
| 5 | @QuentinWillson | Quentin Willson | ITV, Wilson Consultancy | 36.01 |
| 6 | @shelleypetersen | Michelle Petersen | Health Innovations | 31.59 |
| 7 | @RedTedArt | Maggy Woodley | Red Ted Art | 31.4 |
| 8 | @suziewauthor | suziew | Children’s Author | 30.03 |
| 9 | @gill_crawshaw | Gillian Crawshaw | A Baby On Board | 26.14 |
| 10 | @WhatKatySaidUK | Katy {WhatKatySaid} | Wat Katy Said | 24.99 |
SAFETY BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @Jaguar | Jaguar | 100 |
| 2 | @UKVolkswagen | Volkswagen UK | 34.07 |
| 3 | @autocar | Autocar | 33.4 |
| 4 | @evomagazine | evo Magazine | 31.04 |
| 5 | @MadeForMums | MadeForMums | 28.53 |
| 6 | @CarWaffle | Car Waffle | 26.42 |
| 7 | @DVSAgovuk | DVSA | 25.59 |
| 8 | @VolvoCarUK | VOLVO UK | 25.4 |
| 9 | @whatcar | What Car? | 24.88 |
| 10 | @MercedesTruckUK | Mercedes-Benz Trucks | 23.7 |
TECHNOLOGY INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @prashantrao | Prashant Rao | NY Times | 100 |
| 2 | @Jim_Holder | Jim Holder | Haymarket Automotive | 20.81 |
| 3 | @Petercampbell1 | Peter Campbell | Financial Times | 20.57 |
| 4 | @tprstly | Theo Priestley | HTV Vive, ITredux, Magnifact | 17.42 |
| 5 | @TechXB | Steve Nicholls | Tech XB | 12.72 |
| 6 | @ScarbsTech | Craig Scarborough | Scarbs Tech | 11.59 |
| 7 | @kwaichi | Kwai Chi | Vlogger/Blogger | 9.82 |
| 8 | @TimPollardCars | Tim Pollard | Car Magazine | 5.97 |
| 9 | @JonathanHaynes | Jonathan Haynes | The Guardian | 5.22 |
| 10 | @gmt71_01 | Gianmarco Troia | Qwince | 4.84 |
TECHNOLOGY BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @guardiantech | Guardian Tech | 100 |
| 2 | @Independent | The Independent | 70.05 |
| 3 | @Telegraph | The Telegraph | 47.85 |
| 4 | @Jaguar | Jaguar | 86.58 |
| 5 | @BBCTech | BBC Technology | 43.75 |
| 6 | @WiredUK | Wired UK | 22.49 |
| 7 | @techradar | TechRadar | 55.74 |
| 8 | @TechAnnouncer | TechAnnouncer | 7.27 |
| 9 | @AutoExpress | Auto Express | 30.69 |
| 10 | @CarWaffle | Car Waffle | 9.56 |
CONNECTED CARS INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @simonlporter | SimonPorter | IBM | 100 |
| 2 | @mikejulietbravo | Mike Briercliffe | Biercliffe Associates | 90.36 |
| 3 | @aasisvinayak | Aasis Vinayak | Freelance Columnist | 31.09 |
| 4 | @nigelwalsh | Nigel Walsh | Capgemini | 27.29 |
| 5 | @dharmeshsb | dharmeshsb | Orange | 26.26 |
| 6 | @neirajones | Neira Jones | Independent Advisor | 25.58 |
| 7 | @AAinslie | Alexander Ainslie | CE Partners Ltd. | 22.5 |
| 8 | @Sion_Smith | Siôn | lastminute.com | 22.32 |
| 9 | @Andrew_Campling | Andrew Campling | BT | 19.93 |
| 10 | @j4mou1 | James Greenhough | Benz Bavarian | 19.91 |
CONNECTED CARS BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @BBC_TopGear | Top Gear | 100 |
| 2 | @techradar | TechRadar | 33.27 |
| 3 | @CNBCi | CNBC International | 18.7 |
| 4 | @Discover_News_ | Discover News | 13.84 |
| 5 | @GSMA | GSMA | 13.33 |
| 6 | @SuperTechStuff | Super TechStuff | 12.63 |
| 7 | @VolvoCarUK | VOLVO UK | 10.85 |
| 8 | @cbronline | CBROnline.com | 10.25 |
| 9 | @UKSalesTech | UK Technology Blog | 10.09 |
| 10 | @MMMagTweets | Mobile Marketing | 9.85 |
DRIVERLESS CARS INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @Jim_Holder | Jim Holder | Haymarket Automotive | 100 |
| 2 | @ediggs | Eze Vidra | TrialReach | 30.91 |
| 3 | @futureofmovemnt | Peter Elliott | Future of Movement | 24.36 |
| 4 | @jasoncreation | Jason Burrows | Creation Agency | 22.73 |
| 5 | @spenley | Spencer Kelly | BBC Click | 20.93 |
| 6 | @LNeckermann | Lukas Neckermann | Neckermann Strategic Advisors | 17.77 |
| 7 | @alexanderwear | Alexander Sommer | WTVox | 14.15 |
| 8 | @BriggsMartyn | Martyn Briggs | Frost & Sullivan | 9.95 |
| 9 | @kwaichi | Kwai Chi | kwaichi.com | 8.58 |
| 10 | @cliffordious | Clifford McDowell | Doorda | 6.51 |
DRIVERLESS CARS BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @Dezeen | Dezeen | 100 |
| 2 | @WiredUK | Wired UK | 76.56 |
| 3 | @autocar | Autocar | 74.58 |
| 4 | @Jaguar | Jaguar | 66.79 |
| 5 | @techradar | TechRadar | 53.34 |
| 6 | @ccavgovuk | CCAV | 45.03 |
| 7 | @Pocketlint | Pocketlint | 26.62 |
| 8 | @AutoExpress | Auto Express | 21.79 |
| 9 | @DriveEV | Drive EV | 19.81 |
| 10 | @TheManufacturer | The Manufacturer | 11.78 |
Don’t forget these are just the top 10 in each category, be sure to download the report to get the full list!
DOWNLOAD THE FULL REPORT
CLEAN TECH INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @antdavidson | Anthony Davidson | Sky Sports F1 | 100 |
| 2 | @jonnywilde | Jon Wilde | JWGP | jwgrandprix.com | 6.82 |
| 3 | @dsceditor | Graham Goodwin | Daily Sports Car | 5.27 |
| 4 | @TimPollardCars | Tim Pollard | Parkers / Car Magazine | 5.11 |
| 5 | @_LCC7 | Lisa Crampton | Crampton Sports | 3.65 |
| 6 | @_markgallagher | Mark Gallagher | CMS Motor Sport | 3.46 |
| 7 | @ollyjarvis | oliver jarvis | Audi | 3.39 |
| 8 | @hiltonholloway | Hilton Holloway | Autocar | 3.22 |
| 9 | @deanslavnich | Dean Slavnich | Engine Technology International | 2.81 |
| 10 | @OliviaGauch | Olivia Gauch | Motoring.co.uk | 2.59 |
CLEAN TECH BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @autocar | Autocar | 100 |
| 2 | @AutoExpress | Auto Express | 65.02 |
| 3 | @MotorInfoNews | Car News | 40.04 |
| 4 | @whatcar | What Car? | 29.78 |
| 5 | @ZipcarUK | Zipcar UK | 26.62 |
| 6 | @AutoVoltMag | AutoVolt Magazine | 23.41 |
| 7 | @evomagazine | evo Magazine | 18.46 |
| 8 | @CarWaffle | Car Waffle | 17.59 |
| 9 | @SuperTechStuff | Super TechStuff | 15.98 |
| 10 | @ShellMotorsport | ShellMotorsportTeam | 13.77 |
FUEL EFFICIENCY INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @JKempEnergy | John Kemp | Reuters | 100 |
| 2 | @thejournalofind | William Digby-Hammer | The Journal of Industry and Technology | 60.03 |
| 3 | @ScarbsTech | Craig Scarborough | ScarbsTech | 67.02 |
| 4 | @WallacePJW | Paul Wallace | SupercarsofLondon | 66.69 |
| 5 | @hiltonholloway | Hilton Holloway | Autocar | 24.99 |
| 6 | @Jim_Holder | Jim Holder | Haymarket Automotive | 24 |
| 7 | @CreweNorth | Reg Crawford | Freelance writer | 19.2 |
| 8 | @steve_cars | Steve Walker | Auto Express | 19.02 |
| 9 | @DavidDjward | David Ward | Global NCAP | 18 |
| 10 | @jrendell | Julian Rendell | Autocar Magazine | 16.29 |
FUEL EFFICIENCY BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @autocar | Autocar | 100 |
| 2 | @AutoExpress | Auto Express | 92.62 |
| 3 | @MercedesTruckUK | Mercedes-Benz Trucks | 63.84 |
| 4 | @UKHaulier | UK HAULIER | 31.85 |
| 5 | @hgvdriversdiary | Am2Pro Ltd | 17.5 |
| 6 | @AutoNewsUK | Auto News UK | 15.45 |
| 7 | @RHANews | RHA News | 14.13 |
| 8 | @Editorial_MR | Motoring Research | 13.66 |
| 9 | @truckerworld | Trucker World | 12.87 |
| 10 | @Alc333Alc | R.Alc/Trinidad C&I | 11.12 |
DRIVEABILITY INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @andrewbensonf1 | Andrew Benson | BBC Sport | 100 |
| 2 | @BenCollinsStig | Ben Collins | Collins Autosport | 99.54 |
| 3 | @NobleF1 | Jon Noble | Motorsport.com | 94.94 |
| 4 | @PrestigeDiesels | Alexis | Prestige Diesels | 32.39 |
| 5 | @TimPollardCars | Tim Pollard | Parkers / Car Magazine | 32.14 |
| 6 | @CarSnapped | steve.c | Car Snapped | 25.51 |
| 7 | @steve_cars | Steve Walker | Auto Express | 25.41 |
| 8 | @AJ_Bombersports | Adam Johnson | RC Racing TV | 17.39 |
| 9 | @Petercampbell1 | Peter Campbell | Financial Times | 17.22 |
| 10 | @carwriteups | Tim Barnes-Clay | Freelance Journalist | 16.33 |
DRIVEABILITY BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @BBC_TopGear | Top Gear | 100 |
| 2 | @Jaguar | Jaguar | 65.85 |
| 3 | @autocar | Autocar | 43.94 |
| 4 | @AutoExpress | Auto Express | 28.16 |
| 5 | @C4F1 | Channel 4 F1® | 18 |
| 6 | @NHMS | NH Motor Speedway | 17.7 |
| 7 | @PistonHeads | PistonHeads | 16.55 |
| 8 | @trustedcp | Trusted Car Products | 14.11 |
| 9 | @LTMsport | L&T Motorsport | 12.99 |
| 10 | @whatcar | What Car? | 12.98 |
DESIGN INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @yiannimize | Yianni Charalambous | Yiannimize | 100 |
| 2 | @activrightbrain | Dean Johnson | Brandwidth | 83.15 |
| 3 | @Jim_Holder | Jim Holder | Haymarket Automotive | 72.98 |
| 4 | @Shmee150 | Tim Burton | Shmee150 | 52.98 |
| 5 | @steve_cars | Steve Walker | Auto Express | 46.35 |
| 6 | @Matt_Burt_ | Matt Burt | Autocar | 46.15 |
| 7 | @KirHammond | Kirsty Hammond | Link2Media | 41.68 |
| 8 | @OwenReady | Owen Ready | Car Design News | 36.5 |
| 9 | @Jonny_Will_28 | Jonny Williamson | The Manufacturer | 29.28 |
| 10 | @deanslavnich | Dean Slavnich | Engine Technology International | 28.74 |
DESIGN BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @McLarenF1 | McLaren | 100 |
| 2 | @Jaguar | Jaguar | 98.16 |
| 3 | @BBC_TopGear | Top Gear | 89.58 |
| 4 | @Dezeen | Dezeen | 69.51 |
| 5 | @LandRover_UK | Land Rover UK | 55.21 |
| 6 | @astonmartin | Aston Martin | 54.47 |
| 7 | @AutoExpress | Auto Express | 38.97 |
| 8 | @Design_Week | Design Week | 34.16 |
| 9 | @UKClassicCars | UK Classic Cars | 24.91 |
| 10 | @autocar | Autocar | 21.66 |
PURCHASE COST INFLUENCERS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Company | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @MartinSLewis | Martin Lewis | Money Saving Expert | 100 |
| 2 | @RedHotSquirrel | Robert Kimbell | Financial Services Authority | 73.17 |
| 3 | @capipaula182 | Capi driver | Enthusiast | 71.21 |
| 4 | @jrendell | Julian Rendell | Autocar | 69.92 |
| 5 | @carlease4you | Charlie Mc Cullagh | Car Lease 4 U | 41.37 |
| 6 | @SJB6991 | Sam B | Enthusiast | 24.54 |
| 7 | @Shmee150 | Tim Burton | Shmee150 | 19.41 |
| 8 | @carwriteups | Tim Barnes-Clay | Freelance Journalist | 10.79 |
| 9 | @hiltonholloway | Hilton Holloway | Autocar | 9.69 |
| 10 | @autoindigo | Kate — Autoindigo | Auto Indigo | 9.59 |
PURCHASE COST BRANDS
| Rank | Twitter Handle | Name | Influencer Score |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | @TheEconomist | The Economist | 100 |
| 2 | @UKCarLease | UKCarLease | 61.22 |
| 3 | @BBC_TopGear | Top Gear | 31.35 |
| 4 | @AudioneBayUK | Audi onebay | 17.37 |
| 5 | @autocar | Autocar | 17.1 |
| 6 | @AscotMotorCars | AscotMotorCars | 12.87 |
| 7 | @AutoExpress | Auto Express | 10.18 |
| 8 | @LandRover_UK | Land Rover UK | 8.45 |
| 9 | @jdm_zone | JDM_Zone | 8.4 |
| 10 | @bluewheels | Blue Wheels Car Hire | 8.32 |
MAPPING THE UK AUTOMOTIVE COMMUNITY
Once we identified the top influencers in the various topic areas in the UK automotive industry, we wanted to create a visual representation of this community to help illustrate the social landscape. The below map shows the brand Jaguar at the centre who were the #3 brand for innovation, #1 for safety, #2 for technology, #4 for driverless cars, #2 for drivability and #2 for design. This map was created with our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM). Feel free to click on the map to open up a larger version.
Below you can see another network map created using our Influencer Relationship Management software (IRM) showing Theo Priestley, the #2 influencer for Innovation and #4 for Technology at the centre. If you’re interested in identifying and mapping your community, click here to get in touch!
At Onalytica we love building these lists and want to give back to our loyal readers as much as we can. If you’re interested in other topics (such as Virtual Reality, Digital Health, Digital Marketing) be sure to have a gander on our blog or why not propose some topics to us on twitter? We also build some very cool software to manage all of these influencers. Get a free demo today by clicking the button below!
Disclaimer: As ever with these lists, it must be stressed that the ranking is by no means a definitive measurement of influence, as there is no such thing. The brands and individuals listed are undoubtedly influential when it comes to driving discussion in the British automotive industry.
The PageRank based methodology we use to extract influencers on a particular topic takes into account the number and quality of contextual references that a user receives. These calculations also take into account a user’s relevance (number of tweets on topic) and reach (number of followers). If you want to learn more, please read our article that outlines influencer identification.
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THE BRITISH AUTOMOTIVE INDUSTRY:
TOP INFLUENCERS AND BRANDS
Download this free report which reveals the top influencers and brands in the British automotive industry