Three ways automotive marketers are driving high-quality leads

Our latest data shows dealership enquiries are rising – but are sales up too? Here’s how to attract more high-intent leads, not just more callers.

Our Automotive trends report: Spring 2026 reveals how automotive buyer behaviour is changing – and how marketers are responding.

Encouragingly, our data shows substantial increases in call volumes and website visitor numbers, and dealerships tell us new car enquiries have risen significantly. They also report growing interest in EVs, as fuel prices remain high and Chinese brands offer better value options.

Clearly, there’s an opportunity for growth in this buoyant market. But the automotive marketers I speak with say capturing it is easier said than done.

Consumer behaviour is becoming more complex, and buyer journeys are getting longer, as customers conduct more extensive – and often AI-powered – research before getting in touch. Many marketers are working with flat or shrinking budgets, while under increasing pressure to prove their spend is delivering high-intent leads.

In this rapidly evolving automotive environment, marketers must be able to do three key things:

1: Stay visible and agile in the new research journey

As customers shed brand loyalty and dig deeper to find the best value for their budget, we’re seeing the rise of a new research journey. Buyers are exploring their options away from dealerships’ websites. They’re using AI overviews, generative search, and social platforms to find information and recommendations.

“To capture buyers’ attention in the new research journey, you need to be visible where your audiences are,” says Faye Thomassen, Head of Marketing at Mediahawk. “That means optimising your website to make sure you feature in AI search results, and establishing a strong presence on the social platforms your high-intent leads use.”

“To capture buyers’ attention in the new research journey, you need to be visible where your audiences are. That means optimising your website to make sure you feature in AI search results, and establishing a strong presence on the social platforms your high-intent leads use.”
Faye Thomassen, Head of Marketing, Mediahawk

While these developments in buyer behaviour are significant, it’s important to remember that customer journeys will continue to evolve.

For example, our data reveals an increasing diversification in the channels contributing to visitor volumes. Last autumn, PPC, organic, and direct combined to deliver 91% of visitors. But our spring 2026 data shows their share has dropped to 76%.

Similarly, the channels and keywords that work well today may not be as effective tomorrow. It’s vital to have analytics and marketing attribution tools that provide the insights you need to respond rapidly to changing buyer behaviour.

These insights are especially important when budgets are tight and ROI is under increased scrutiny, as Russell Brown, Group Marketing Manager for Dick Lovett, knows all too well. “By using Mediahawk’s Sales Matching, we can see which channel has had a part to play within the sales journey,” Russell says. “This allows us to keep a much closer eye on how our budget is being spent – which is especially important with the likes of PPC and Auto Trader.”

2: Understand what converts

In theory, the increased upfront research in the new buyer journey should mean that website visitors have a higher chance of conversion.

However, marketers tell us that the increased traffic our data shows doesn’t always equate to increased conversions. Optimising websites for conversions – whether it’s filling out a form, starting a chat session, or making a call – is a vital piece of the puzzle. But it’s also important to have visibility of how converted prospects arrived at the site and the key touchpoints that led to a sale.

Understanding which channels contribute to conversion requires linking buyers’ visits, calls, form fills, and chats into a complete picture of each conversion.

This insight allows you to understand what works and build a clear picture of your ideal buyer. And it enables you to attribute conversions to the channels, campaigns, and keywords that drove them, demonstrating tangible ROI.

3: Get maximum ROI from constrained budgets

With the budget constraints we’re currently seeing in automotive marketing, delivering high impact isn’t easy. But automotive marketers are under more pressure than ever to do just that.

To increase ROI from your spend, you need to focus on quality over quantity, especially when it comes to phone calls. Calls are a vital source of enquiries for dealerships, but not every call is from a high-intent prospect. So, it’s essential to understand not just the number of calls driven by a particular campaign or keyword, but the intent behind those calls and the revenue they eventually generated.

While call tracking allows you to see the source of each call, speech AI tools give you visibly of the intent and outcome of those calls. That means you can identify which channels and activities are driving high-intent callers.

By avoiding wasted spend and focusing your budget on the campaigns and keywords that genuinely drive sales, you can maximise the impact of your budget – and directly link your marketing efforts to vehicle sales.

Summary

The automotive sector is changing fast, and it will continue to evolve as buyer behaviour and preferences shift.

Marketers who have specialist tools for marketing attribution, call tracking, and speech analytics will be able to respond quickly and effectively to these changes. They’ll have the insights to spend their budgets with confidence, attract more sales-ready leads, and see their dealerships thrive.