The Indian auto sector’s advertising landscape in 2025 reflects a clear divergence in media performance, with traditional television losing momentum even as Print, Radio and Digital gather pace. According to TAM AdEx’s 2025 Cross Media Advertising Recap - Auto Sector, TV ad volumes declined sharply by 21% year-on-year (YoY), underscoring a visible pullback in spends on the medium. This comes even as other platforms registered growth, pointing to a recalibration in media strategies by auto marketers.

Key highlights

•    Ad volumes on Television declined sharply by 21% approximately (Index: 99 → 78) in 2025, indicating a significant pullback in TV activity.  
•    Ad space in Print grew by 9% approximately (Index: 137 → 150) in 2025, continuing its steady upward trajectory. 
•    Ad volumes on Radio increased by 13% approximately (Index: 233 → 263) last year, reflecting consistent medium-level growth. 
•    Ad impressions on Digital surged by 100% (2x growth) (Index: 192 → 384) in 2025, making it the fastest-growing medium by a wide margin.

The report underscores this divergence: even as Television continues to dominate in scale, it is losing share of voice, with advertisers reallocating budgets toward print, radio, and especially digital, which has emerged as the fastest-growing medium.

Cars dominated the category mix on TV, with a 47% share of ad volumes, while leading advertisers such as Maruti Suzuki India and Hero MotoCorp accounted for 11% each. In terms of content alignment, News emerged as the most preferred genre with a commanding 67% share, followed by Movies at 16%. Prime time remained the most effective time band, contributing 38% of ad volumes, reinforcing TV’s strength in delivering mass reach at scale.

Top 10 advertisers for auto sector on TV

Print, in contrast, continued its upward trajectory, with ad space expanding by 9% over 2024. Ad space expanded by 13% year-on-year and surged 50% compared to 2021 levels. Cars (58%) and Two-Wheelers (34%) continued to dominate category presence, while Maruti Suzuki India led the advertiser rankings with a 19% share. Regionally, North India contributed the highest share at 33%, with Delhi and Mumbai emerging as the top cities. Notably, 67% of print advertising was driven by sales promotions, highlighting the medium’s strong orientation toward last-mile activation.

Radio also posted steady gains, with ad volumes rising by 13% year-on-year. Ad volumes have doubled compared to 2021, signalling sustained growth. Cars accounted for a dominant 71% share of ad volumes, while Maruti Suzuki India alone contributed a significant 37%. Region-wise, Maharashtra and Gujarat led with 15% share each, underlining the importance of key auto markets. Advertising was heavily concentrated in Morning and Evening time bands, which together accounted for 84% of total ad volumes, reflecting peak commuter engagement.

Digital emerged as the standout performer in 2025, with ad impressions doubling compared to the previous year. Ad impressions surged nearly threefold compared to 2021, far outpacing all other media. Cars led the category mix with a 61% share, followed by Two-Wheelers at 15%. Maruti Suzuki India remained the top advertiser with a 25% share of impressions. The ecosystem is overwhelmingly programmatic, with 94% of transactions routed through automated buying.

The auto advertiser landscape remains highly concentrated, with the top players accounting for a significant share of total ad volumes and impressions. Maruti Suzuki India, in particular, maintained its leadership position across all media with 11% share of ad volumes.

Quarterly trends further reveal the cyclical nature of auto advertising, with festive periods driving spikes in activity. The third quarter, coinciding with the festive season, witnessed a notable surge in ad volumes across several media, particularly television, even as the overall annual trend remained subdued. 

Taken together, the data points to an inflection point in the auto sector’s advertising strategy. While television continues to offer unmatched scale, its declining volumes signals a shift away from traditional mass TV toward performance-driven and scalable digital ecosystems, with Print and Radio playing supporting but growing roles.