Automotive marketing is moving toward more personalized experiences, sustainability messaging and software-enabled services—but none works on its own. The strongest strategy connects a relevant offer or feature to clear customer value, explains any data use plainly and accounts for practical buying conditions such as price, charging access and everyday vehicle needs.
That balance matters because interest varies by market and customer. Deloitte’s 2026 Global Automotive Consumer Study found that vehicle quality, performance and price lead brand choice in its cross-market summary; tailored messages and connected features cannot make up for a product that does not meet those expectations.
What is changing in automotive marketing?
Marketing, sales and service are increasingly part of one customer experience. A person may encounter a vehicle in an ad, compare features on a brand site, discuss a purchase with a dealer and later receive service communications. Personalization can make those interactions more relevant, but connected-vehicle data also makes privacy and trust part of the experience—not merely a back-office compliance issue.
The evidence points to three connected strategic directions, each with a different customer promise and a different risk to manage:
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| Marketing direction | Potential customer value | What marketers need to get right |
|---|---|---|
| Personalization | More relevant product, sales or ownership information | Use data transparently, appropriately and in ways that help the customer |
| Sustainability and electrification | Clearer understanding of vehicle attributes and fit with the customer’s needs | Make claims specific and credible; account for price, charging and practical use |
| Connected and software-enabled features | Useful services or capabilities during ownership | Explain what a feature does, whether it involves data, and what the customer is agreeing to |
These are not separate campaigns to layer on top of one another. A connected service might be personalized, for example, but its value depends on the feature being useful and the data practice being understandable. Similarly, an EV message can be tailored to a buyer’s circumstances, but it should not obscure affordability or charging constraints.
How should automotive brands personalize the customer experience?
Make relevance more useful than more frequent
Personalization should help a customer find or understand something that matters: a vehicle configuration, a financing option, a service reminder or a connected feature. The test is whether the communication makes a decision or ownership task easier—not whether the brand can send another message. Deloitte’s 2026 study summary says quality, performance and price lead vehicle brand choice across the markets it studied, while advertising, brand affiliations and easy financing are less influential. That is a study finding, not a universal ranking for every segment, but it is a useful reminder that relevance cannot substitute for credible product value.
Treat data disclosure as part of the experience
Connected-vehicle information can raise questions about what is collected, why it is used and whether it is shared. KPMG’s 2024 report describes customer experience across marketing, sales and service as intertwined for automakers and identifies connected-vehicle data collection and sharing as a privacy and trust challenge. It recommends privacy by design and default, ethical data policies and secure technology; those are recommendations, not proof that every manufacturer has adopted effective practices.
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A 2023 European Commission study examined EU consumer-law requirements and consumer expectations for information about data processing in connected-car services, compared those with practices at major manufacturers in selected European markets, and developed recommendations. Its scope supports a practical rule: explain data processing in language customers can understand, while recognizing that legal requirements depend on the use case and jurisdiction. Read the European Commission study.
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Consumer concern is also broader than automotive. KPMG’s 2024 report cites Pew Research Center’s 2023 finding that 81% of US adults were concerned and confused about how their data was being used. That is not an automotive-specific survey, nor a KPMG consumer poll, but it underscores why brands should not assume that collecting data automatically creates permission or trust.
Do not let customization outrank value or convenience
Blue Yonder’s September 2024 survey of more than 4,000 consumers in the United States, United Kingdom, France and Germany found that 86% of respondents said they would compromise on personalization to lower vehicle cost amid high interest rates. In the same survey, 80% said they would compromise on personalization for faster delivery, and 85% considered a delivery time of one to six months acceptable. These are findings from those four markets at that time, not universal consumer preferences or a current measure of every buyer’s priorities. Still, they illustrate a useful trade-off: personalization is not necessarily the priority when price or speed matters more. See Blue Yonder’s survey infographic.
How should sustainability and EV marketing reflect different customer realities?
Describe demand with market and date attached
Deloitte’s 2026 Global Automotive Consumer Study surveyed more than 28,500 consumers in 27 countries from October through November 2025. Its study summary describes battery-electric vehicle demand as steady but cautious and hybrid appeal as strengthening as consumers weigh affordability, charging access and everyday practicality. Those findings argue against a blanket message that EV interest is surging everywhere or that one powertrain suits every buyer. Explore Deloitte’s 2026 Global Automotive Consumer Study.
Blue Yonder’s 2024 survey found that 25% of respondents across its four-country sample considered sustainability and EV options a primary purchase factor. The reported shares differed by country: 19% in the US, 29% in the UK, 26% in Germany and 28% in France. These figures are from a company-sponsored survey fielded in September 2024; they are not a global estimate or a measure of preferences in 2026.
Connect environmental claims to evidence
Marketers should distinguish among a vehicle’s stated attributes, claims about a battery or lifecycle, and evidence about consumer interest. A statement about vehicle-level fuel economy or emissions needs an appropriate basis; a statement about what buyers value needs a clearly identified survey and population. The US Environmental Protection Agency’s Automotive Trends Report is an official source for data on new light-duty vehicle fuel economy, emissions, technology and manufacturer performance against greenhouse-gas standards. Use the relevant report and its definitions when checking a specific performance claim; the report page itself is not a substitute for citing the figure behind that claim. Find the EPA Automotive Trends Report.
Address the practical questions behind an EV message
For a prospective EV buyer, relevance may depend on where and how the vehicle will be charged, whether charging is accessible in their routine, and whether the vehicle meets their daily needs. Deloitte’s study includes consumer questions about preferred charging locations and charging experiences, while its summary identifies affordability, charging access and practicality as factors shaping powertrain choices. A useful campaign should address those questions rather than imply that environmental interest alone settles a purchase decision.
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What do connected vehicles and software features change?
Connected services, software-defined vehicles, software-enabled features and over-the-air updates give automakers new subjects to explain throughout the ownership journey. Deloitte included willingness to pay for connected services, connected-vehicle data sharing and software-enabled features among the topics in its 2026 study. The available summary establishes that these are areas of consumer interest and research; it does not establish that every consumer values every feature or will pay for it.
For each feature, marketing should answer practical questions before making a broad promise:
- What does it do? Describe the capability in terms of the task or benefit it offers, rather than relying on labels such as “connected” or “smart.”
- When and where is it available? Make relevant vehicle, market or service conditions clear rather than implying universal availability.
- What data does it use? Explain collection and use in understandable terms, and do not treat connected-vehicle data as automatically available for marketing.
- What is the customer being asked to accept? Make consent and other meaningful choices clear, with practices suited to the relevant jurisdiction.
This approach links technology to an intelligible customer benefit while treating privacy as a condition of responsible personalization. KPMG’s 2024 survey of automotive OEMs found that 98% of respondents had established structured programs, frameworks and defined roles to manage sensitive customer vehicle data, and 86% reported significantly or moderately increased privacy-program budgets. These are OEM survey findings; they do not measure consumer trust or show that every program is effective. Read KPMG’s 2024 report, “Driving trust: Consumer privacy and automotive manufacturers”.
How can marketers choose the right approach for a market?
A strong plan tests each idea against the customer and conditions it is meant to serve. The same message may not fit every country, buyer or vehicle use case.
- Audience and market: Define the country, customer group and relevant purchase conditions. Deloitte’s study supports cross-market analysis; Blue Yonder’s four-country findings show why one survey result should not be generalized to every market.
- Customer value: State what becomes easier, clearer or more useful for the customer. Keep product quality, performance and price central rather than assuming personalization will carry the proposition.
- Sustainability-claim quality: Identify whether a claim concerns a vehicle attribute, lifecycle impact or consumer preference, and use evidence suited to that claim.
- Data trust and regulatory context: Be clear about what is collected, why, and how customers are informed. Check the applicable jurisdiction and use case rather than assuming one disclosure covers every situation.
- Practical EV friction: Consider affordability, charging access and everyday practicality alongside environmental interest.
The studies cited here measure different things and populations: Deloitte surveyed consumers in 27 countries, Blue Yonder surveyed consumers in four countries, and KPMG surveyed automotive OEM respondents. Their percentages should not be combined into a single trend line, and the evidence cited here does not establish a causal return-on-investment figure for personalized campaigns.
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