Competitive Info: Automotive TV Spend Plunges Vs. A Year Ago.

Automotive brands scaled back national TV ad spending in a big way in July, with an estimated $69.9 million spent. That was down a whopping 24.7% from $92.8 million a year earlier, according to iSpot.tv, whose findings were reported by Marketing Daily.

iSpot’s said year-to-date spending also dipped, falling 1.8% to $1.2 billion vs. $1.3 billion during the same period in 2024.

Household TV ad impressions, meanwhile, followed a similar trend, down 21.5% on a year-over-year basis in July to 16.2 billion vs. 20.6 billion. Cumulative impressions for 2025 are also down 15.8%, totaling 123.2 billion vs. 146.4 billion in 2024.

The top five auto brands by estimated national TV ad spending in July were Kia ($10 million), Subaru ($8 million), Lexus ($6.3 million), Volkswagen ($5.7 million) and Genesis ($4.5 million).

Summer gives automakers an opportunity to spotlight seasonal sales events, and brands are finding different avenues to reach viewers, says Stuart Schwartzapfel, EVP, media partnerships at iSpot.

“While baseball and golf delivered particularly large audiences, opportunities also exist to better capitalize on high-performing news programs that are reaching more consumers actively interested in buying a car — and at a lower cost for these brands,” Schwartzapfel tells Marketing Daily.

In July, sports programming accounted for roughly one-third of the auto industry’s total national linear TV ad spending, with Major League Baseball (8.7%) and SportsCenter (2.7%) leading the way, according to iSpot.tv.

The top five automotive brands by share of household TV ad impressions were Toyota (10.3%), Hyundai (9.69%), Kia (9.63%), Lexus (8.65%) and Ford (6.95%).

On the streaming front, the top brands by share of voice in July were Hyundai (13.83%), Jeep (9.54%), Ram Trucks (8.1%), Nissan (7.93%) and Kia (7.26%).