We’ve taken a look at the sponsorship habits of the automotive industry; to save you time, here are some talking points to help you reach out to potential partners.

Car dealerships have been in the news a fair bit recently; between second-hand car sales more than doubling over the past few months and the sponsorship deal between Peter Vardy and Edinburgh Rugby, rights holders will want to take advantage of this sector’s success and approach car dealers about sponsorship opportunities. If you want to, we have a report containing the top 100 car dealers, with everything from their HQ location to their price points, and even details on their decision-makers.

Unless you’ve been living under a rock, you will have seen that relative newcomers to the game, Cazoo and cinch, are utilising their billions in funding on sponsorship deals, mainly in the sport and entertainment. This exposure, combined with dealerships being shut during UK lockdowns, has given traditional car dealerships some stiff competition, and although the industry is enjoying a revival, rights holders are able to offer these brands invaluable brand awareness and market share in this fierce battle and potential fight for future survival. 

Nearly three quarters of the top 100 car dealers offer some form of a hybrid service, allowing them to reach a wider audience and remain relevant in the fourth industrial revolution. This also means they are able to compete directly with online only dealers while still appealing to consumers who prefer to shop in person. Many of these dealerships still have multiple physical locations nationwide, meaning there will be brands close to you that can activate locally. 

caytoo recently released a report which analysed the main sponsors of over 200 sports teams across 13 different league/competitions. You can read more and find out how to request the report here. 

Our research revealed that automotive brands have a decent sponsorship appetite, evidenced by the fact that this industry was the second most active (behind construction & engineering) and accounting for over 9% of main sponsors from the 221 teams analysed.  

According to Statista, the automotive sector was one of the top sectors for sponsorship spend globally in 2020. With just under £2 billion spent on sports sponsorship, automotive was beaten to the top spot only by financial services (over £5bn) and technology (£3.3bn). With second-hand car sales skyrocketing, and the world opening back up post-pandemic, now is the perfect time to target these brands and capitalise on this big spending sector. 

As mentioned at the beginning of this article, caytoo have produced a report containing the top 100 car dealerships (according to revenue) ranging from well-known brands such as Arnold Clark with 200+ sites to those with just one. 

You can view our full infographic here.