Meta and the Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) have released a report detailing the growing role of digital platforms in the Indian automotive market. According to the findings, digital tools like Facebook, Instagram, and WhatsApp are increasingly shaping how consumers discover and interact with car dealerships.
The report revealed that a significant portion of new car buyers—72%—discovered their brands through Meta’s platforms. In addition, 69% said these platforms played a role in their purchase decisions. WhatsApp, in particular, is proving to be a major communication channel, with 48% of buyers using it to inquire about vehicle availability.
The survey also highlighted that Instagram Reels is becoming an influential space for automotive research, with 72% of buyers finding creator content helpful for evaluating vehicles. The report indicated a growing trend of automotive brands leveraging these digital spaces for marketing and communication.
While the report emphasised the increasing role of AI-powered advertising tools, it pointed to how these digital changes are leading to higher engagement and better lead generation for dealerships.
C S Vigneshwar, President,Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said, “At FADA, our vision is to empower dealers nationwide with the right digital tools and insights to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market. Through our partnership with Meta, we’ve not only exceeded our commitment of upskilling 3,000 dealers—surpassing 6,000—but we’ve also seen a 3X increase in digitization and a marked 32% improvement in lead generation efficiency. This whitepaper underscores the potential of AI, Reels, and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp to strengthen customer relationships and drive growth. We look forward to scaling this collaboration further, bridging the digital gap in automotive retail, ensuring that dealers across India are future-ready, and remain agile in these dynamic times.”
Saugato Bhowmik, Director, Auto, CPG, and D2C for Meta in India said, “Our platforms and products are well positioned to enable rapid and efficient digital customer acquisition and engagement for auto dealers in a hyperlocal manner. Over the last two years we’ve upskilled nearly 10,000 dealers along with FADA to digitize their outreach and experiences through our unique hyperlocal solutions and key products ranging from Reels and AI to messaging. We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with FADA and take on the ambitious target of upskilling 5000 more dealers in the next 2 years. This program has not only benefitted thousands of auto dealers but also proven to drive strong sales results for leading OEMs.”
“We’re excited to see outstanding business results through our partnership with Meta and OnlineSales on the Hyperlocal program. Together, we’ve developed a custom model that efficiently onboarded over 600 dealers in record time. In H2 ’24, Meta’s hyperlocal program drove a remarkable 37% growth in sales compared to H1, while delivering 29% reduction in Cost per Retail. As we move forward, we’re eager to scale this partnership further, leveraging cutting-edge AI and messaging solutions to unlock even greater opportunities.”Virat Khullar, Group Head, Marketing, Hyundai Motor India Limited said.
“Our partnership with Meta has helped amplify the impact of our passenger vehicle launches. Mahindra has leveraged the best and latest in technology to drive launch impact through Meta’s family of Apps. Some of the key activations include leveraging WhatsApp for Thar ROXX launch, using Partnership ads for driving consideration for XUV 700 (Intent went up +3.3 pts) and the Auto Industry’s first chat-based car configurator on Messenger and Instagram Direct for XUV 3XO, which saw 29% increase in conversation volumes. Our collaboration with Meta has driven significant impact, leading to bookings and sales, and setting new benchmarks in the industry,” Manjari Upadhye, Chief Marketing Officer, Auto, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited said.