UK Automotive Industry

The UK has seen big changes in the automotive industry over the last 100 years, as the manufacture of cars, trucks and motorbikes has moved from areas such as Coventry, Birmingham and the Midlands to overseas over the last couple of decades.

The UK however remains a strong market for buying new cars, since the government introduced the 'scrapage scheme' to kickstart the industry after the recession first started in 2007, the market has picked up.  New cars, trucks and motorbikes are now available on finance for consumers and businesses - which has the downside of people/companies going into debt as a result.

The UK automotive sector is going through steady growth at the moment which does have knock on effects in other markets that are based in and around the automotive sector (spares, sales, marketing etc.).

Diversity Of Automotive Companies

Despite the wide range of automotive manufacturing companies, many of the car, truck and vehicle manufacturing companies are owned by larger groups.  This is due to larger companies merging and buying up smaller automotive companies to become larger and more profitable groups.

Main car companies and brands owned by them:

• Toyota - Daihatsu, Lexus, Toyota
• GM - Ford, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Opel, Vauxhall
• VW - Audi, Bentley, Bugatti, Lamborghini, Scania, SEAT, Skoda, VW
• Hyundai - Hyundai, Kia
• Nissan- Nissan
• Honda - Honda
• Peugeot - Peugeot, Citroen
• Suzuki - Suzuki
• Renault - Renault
• Fiat - Alfa Romao, Fiat, Ferrari, Lancia, Maserati
• Daimler - Mercedes-Benz,
• Chrysler - Jeep, Dodge, Chrysler
• BMW - BMW, Mini, Rolls-Royce
• Mazda - Mazda
• Tata Motors - Jaguar, Land Rover,

There are many other car manufacturers around the world that manufacture for specific countries, however the cars above are the majority of cars that are seen in and around the UK.

Marketing For Automotive Companies

With such a wide variety of car manufacturers and automotive brands around the UK competing for market share, there is of course a need to use a variety of marketing tools in order to ensure that car sales are up and the UK market is spending.

Automotive companies use a wide range of marketing and advertising tools in order to serve a wide range of purposes:

Websites  For Automotive Companies

Websites play an important roll for automotive companies but websites for automotive companies are used in a different way to many other businesses.  Websites for automotive companies are used mainly as a point of reference, the shop window of the company and a way for prospective clients to get information and specifications on new cars/trucks/motor bicycles.

PR For Automotive Companies

Public relations does play a very important roll for automotive companies in that it is used to create and sell the brand of the car company.  PR is all about raising awarness and ensuring that UK consumers are seeing the automotive companies name, their logo and their brand in the media.  PR for automotive companies is used both for enhancing the companies brand and position in the industry, but also in combating any bad press (crisis PR).

Advertising For Automotive Companies

Automotive companies use a wide variety of advertising methods in order to ensure that their name and brand is seen.  This could be sponsoring advertising (at football matches, FI Racing, ice hockey etc.) billboard advertising, magazines, TV etc.  Advertising for automotive companies plays a big part of their sales program in particular traditional advertising channels such as TV and magazine advertising.

SEO For Automotive Websites

Being found on the internet is an important factor of marketing for automotive companies; however with the amount of advertising that automotive companies do, SEO does not play as crucial a role as it does in other industries.  SEO for automotive companies is something that is still considered an important factor and one that is invested into.

PPC For Automotive Websites

Paid advertising is used mainly for the retail side of the automotive sector (as the car manufacturing areas do not really need to use PPC) so for car sales, truck sales and motorcycle sales, PPC does play a very important roll.  PPC for automotive companies is an area of marketing that receives significant focus due to the internet playing such a powerful roll in the retail part of the automotive sector.

Choosing An Automotive Marketing Company

For any automotive company, the sales and marketing side of the company is crucial, certainly during these days of economic downturn and global recession which is causing big fears for car manufactures.

From the many thousands of marketing companies around the UK, it is advised that marketing for automotive companies is kept within the automotive knowledge bank.  There are tens of thousands of marketing companies around the UK with a very wide span of experience; however it is logical for automotive companies to use a marketing company that has automotive marketing experience.  One that has worked in the automotive sector in the past (whether for PR, design, SEO etc.) and/or has existing clients in the industry.  This should ensure that the marketing company knows how the sector works, knows the key players and how to position the marketing campaign without the need of going through a learning curve.

Meeting An Automotive Marketing Company

For any automotive company considering using a marketing agency, it is advised to meet up with the marketing company.

Many marketing companies prefer not to meet, as they can juggle more clients and therefore get higher profits; however an automotive company needs to ensure value for money, therefore meeting the marketing agency should ensure they are 100% focused on the campaign and pushing for results.

Review meetings are also wise - to ensure that targets are being hit, profits are being made and the marketing company is not becoming complacent.

Compare Marketing Costs For Automotive Marketing

Comparing prices for anything these days is important in order to ensure value for money, all marketing companies aim to make profits (so as to pay for larger offices, holidays, houses, cars etc.) and grow themselves.

For automotive companies, choosing an agency that has automotive marketing experience is important, one that can produce results is important, but one that is not making excessive profits from the automotive company.  Shopping around and comparing quotes from marketing companies with automotive experience should give a feel for the kind of fees involved and ensure that the automotive company is not overpaying and funding a marketing companies new house.

For free advice and quotes from automotive companies that have experience in marketing for automotive companies, just fill in the form above.

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