Global: Do consumers trust car ads?

Whether they’re sleek, star-studded, humorous, or just plain weird, car ads are a staple of television, magazine, and internet advertising. But do consumers trust them?

Globally, 12% of consumers say the automotive industry is among their top three most honest and reliable sectors when it comes to marketing and advertising (average across 15 markets). This puts the sector behind food and beverage companies (21%), clothing brands (19%), banks and insurance companies (14%), consumer electronics brands (14%), and retailers (13%); on par with airlines (12%); and ahead of video game companies (10%), telcos (9%) and gambling firms (4%).

On a national level, opinions are more variable.

Indonesian (23% - online rep), Chinese (20%), and Mexican (20%) consumers are most likely to say that car ads are more trustworthy and reliable than ads for other products and services.

On the other end of the scale, British (5%), Danish (6%), Swedish consumers (7%), Hong Kongers (7%) – who, in their scepticism, are outliers among the Asian markets in our study – and Germans (9%) are less likely to trust car ads. Europeans in general tend to be less likely to say they trust car ads, with the exceptions of Italian (18%), Polish (15%), and French consumers (12%). Answers in the Americas vary: the Mexican public are more likely to say automotive ads are reliable, while the US public are in line with the global average (12%). Finally, consumers in the UAE (18%) are more trusting of car marketing in general.

Methodology

The data is based on the interviews of adults aged 18 and over in 18 markets with sample sizes varying for each market. All interviews were conducted online in December 2021. Data from each market uses a nationally representative sample apart from Mexico and India, which use urban representative samples, and Indonesia and Hong Kong, which use online representative samples.