So whose ads pay off?

17th October 2008

What’s your favourite car ad? Whether it’s Citroen’s robot or Honda’s skydivers, they all cost money to make.

To calculate just how much of a new car’s price goes directly on publicity, industry analyst Ebiquity used registration figures and ad budgets for 2008 so far. Renault tops the table with £389 spent per car sold. Yet Ford, the UK’s best-selling brand, spends £114 per car and BMW only £22. An Ebiquity spokesman said: “Such firms have already built a reputation, so don’t need to try as hard.”

Manufacturer / Registrations / Add budget / Spend per car

Renault: - 68,637 / £26.7m / £389
Citroen: - 55,928 / £17.3m / £310
Toyota: - 72,106 / £20.1m / £279
Honda: - 60,022 / £12.5m / £208
Peugeot: - 82,886 / £17.1 / £206
Audi: - 67,575 / £11.9m / £177
VW: - 120,368 / £18.7m / £155
Vauxhall: - 205,554 / £26.0m / £127
Ford: - 219,824 / £25.0m / £144
BMW: - 75,161 / £1.7m / £22

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