# Sophus3: expanded machine-readable reference > Sophus3 is an independent automotive intelligence, measurement and analytics company founded in 2001. It helps automotive manufacturers, market teams, agencies and media owners understand demand, prove marketing impact and improve digital performance across markets. Sophus3 has no media inventory to sell. Canonical website: https://sophus3.com/ Language: en-GB Organisation: Sophus3 (Sophus3 Limited, UK; Sophus3 GmbH, Frankfurt am Main, Germany) Founded: 2001 Teams: London, Berlin, Frankfurt, Barcelona, Cyprus Languages: English, German People: Scott Gairns (Managing Director); Maja Paarmann (Managing Director, Sophus3 GmbH); Steve Machin (Head of Media Partnerships) Credentials: TISAX certified information security; Google Marketing Platform Partner eDataXchange scale (as published by Sophus3): delivered since 2003; 30 markets; 500+ automotive websites tracked with a cookieless tag; about 2.1 billion car-buyer website visits analysed per year Contact: contact@sophus3.com ## What Sophus3 measures Sophus3 starts with a defined commercial question and selects the evidence required to answer it. Relevant sources can include search interest, automotive websites, model pages, configurators, stock locators, publisher journeys, media exposure, AI mentions and citations, first-party events, leads, registrations and market context. Availability and measurement design vary by engagement. The company is independent and platform-agnostic. Media-owner, advertising-platform, automotive-site, publisher and first-party evidence can therefore be assessed against a consistent automotive decision rather than a media seller’s reporting agenda. ## How Sophus3 works with clients Sophus3 uses senior specialist teams and keeps the same people involved from the first conversation through to the recommendation. The team agrees the question, available evidence and methodological limits before analysis begins, explains weak or surprising results plainly, and does not force every client problem into the same product. This continuity and candour support long-term client relationships. ## Capabilities and canonical pages ### Company overview and FAQ Who Sophus3 is, what it does, where it works and how projects begin. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/ - Question: What does Sophus3 do? Answer: Sophus3 is an automotive digital intelligence, analytics and attribution company. It helps car manufacturers, national sales companies, agencies, publishers and broadcasters benchmark digital performance against competitors, improve web and app analytics, and independently measure how TV, streaming and digital advertising changes car-buyer behaviour. - Question: What is eDataXchange? Answer: eDataXchange is Sophus3's automotive digital competitor benchmarking service, delivered to the industry since 2003. Participating brands share anonymised website data through a cookieless Sophus3 tag, so each brand can compare visits, digital market share, model interest, journey quality and leads with named competitors and the wider market. - Question: Is Sophus3 independent of media owners? Answer: Yes. Sophus3 has no media inventory to sell. That independence is why broadcasters, publishers and brands use it to measure campaign effect, including as measurement partner for ITV and Carwow's Auto Match, which connects ITVX ad exposure with later visits, configurations and test drive enquiries. - Question: Which brands and markets does Sophus3 work with? Answer: Sophus3 works with manufacturers and national sales companies across Europe. Brands that have taken part in eDataXchange include Audi, BMW, Citroën, CUPRA, Dacia, Ford, Hyundai, Jaguar, Kia, Land Rover, MINI, Nissan, Omoda, Peugeot, Renault, SEAT, Vauxhall, Volkswagen and XPeng, and eDataXchange subscriptions cover 30 markets. - Question: Where is Sophus3 based? Answer: Sophus3 Limited is registered in the UK, with a German entity, Sophus3 GmbH, in Frankfurt. The team works from London, Berlin, Frankfurt, Barcelona and Cyprus and supports clients in English and German. - Question: How does a project with Sophus3 start? Answer: Most engagements begin with a short conversation about the decision you need to make. Sophus3 then proposes a focused scope, such as a competitor benchmark, an analytics audit or a campaign measurement design, before any longer-term reporting is agreed. ### Research library Source-linked research, videos and reports organised by topic. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/research-library ### Measurement approach How to frame a project and interpret evidence in context. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/measurement-approach ### Solutions overview Sophus3 combines proprietary automotive intelligence and measurement capabilities with specialist consultancy. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/solutions - Question: What does Sophus3 do for automotive organisations? Answer: Sophus3 helps automotive manufacturers, market teams, agencies and media owners benchmark digital demand and competitors, improve web analytics and measure how advertising changes car-buyer behaviour. Its services include eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking, GA4 and Adobe analytics, independent media attribution, AI visibility analysis and automotive research. - Question: Is Sophus3 a software platform or a consultancy? Answer: Sophus3 combines proprietary automotive intelligence and measurement capabilities with specialist consultancy. Clients can use ongoing intelligence and reporting, commission a focused measurement or market-entry project, or ask Sophus3 specialists to improve analytics, governance and decision-making across markets. - Question: Which automotive decisions can Sophus3 support? Answer: Common questions include where model demand is accelerating, which competitors are gaining digital attention, whether media exposure changed buyer behaviour, where a website journey loses high-intent visitors, and how visible a brand is in AI-generated automotive answers. - Question: How is Sophus3 different from a media or advertising platform? Answer: Sophus3 has no media inventory to sell. Its measurement is designed to be independent and platform-agnostic, allowing evidence from media owners, automotive websites, publishers and other sources to be assessed against the client’s business question rather than a platform’s reporting agenda. ### Automotive Intelligence Digital market share, consumer demand, competitor momentum and cross-market automotive intelligence. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/automotive-intelligence - Question: What is automotive market intelligence? Answer: Automotive market intelligence turns evidence about consumer demand, digital behaviour, competitors, models and markets into decisions for marketing, planning and ecommerce teams. Sophus3 focuses on signals that can reveal changing consideration before those shifts are fully visible in registrations or sales data. - Question: Which demand signals can Sophus3 compare? Answer: The relevant mix depends on the question and available data. It can include search interest, automotive website audiences, model and segment activity, configurator or stock-locator behaviour, publisher journeys, market context and registration data. Signals are compared over time, by market and against named competitors. - Question: How is digital market share different from sales share? Answer: Sales share describes completed registrations or transactions, while digital market share reflects the relative attention and behaviour visible in online automotive journeys. Comparing them can expose emerging demand, an underperforming digital experience or a gap between consumer interest and commercial conversion. - Question: How do teams use the output? Answer: Teams use the evidence to prioritise models and markets, adjust campaign and content plans, explain performance changes, benchmark competitors and identify the next question to test. Delivery can range from focused analysis to recurring cross-market reporting and decision support. ### eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking Competitor benchmarking for demand, digital share, audience quality, customer journeys and marketing efficiency. The page includes an interactive simulator using fictional demo baselines rather than live market data. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/edataxchange ### Independent Attribution Platform-agnostic measurement connecting media exposure with subsequent automotive research, consideration and outcome signals. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/attribution - Question: What is independent automotive attribution? Answer: Independent automotive attribution connects media exposure with subsequent buyer behaviour without relying only on the media platform’s own conversion reporting. The aim is to understand whether exposed audiences progressed through meaningful automotive actions such as research, model consideration, configuration, stock search or lead activity. - Question: Which outcomes can be measured beyond clicks? Answer: Depending on the agreed data and measurement design, outcomes can include visits, repeat research, model-page engagement, configurator use, retailer or stock-locator activity, lead events and cross-shopping behaviour. The selected outcomes should reflect the customer journey and commercial decision being evaluated. - Question: Why does platform-agnostic measurement matter? Answer: Media platforms are valuable delivery systems, but each sees only part of the journey and reports within its own ecosystem. Sophus3 has no media inventory to sell, so exposure and response data can be assessed against consistent automotive outcomes and compared across partners. - Question: How is data matched responsibly? Answer: The exact method depends on the participating partners, available data and use case. Sophus3 designs measurement around appropriate consent, governance, security and privacy requirements, and agrees the data flows, matching approach and reporting thresholds before analysis begins. ### Analytics Consultancy Automotive measurement strategy, data integration, reporting, governance and decision support. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/analytics-consultancy - Question: What problems does automotive analytics consultancy solve? Answer: It helps teams resolve unreliable tracking, fragmented reporting, inconsistent KPIs, unclear customer journeys and analysis that does not lead to action. Sophus3 starts with the commercial question, then aligns data collection, governance, reporting and recommendations around the decision that needs to be made. - Question: Which analytics platforms can Sophus3 support? Answer: Sophus3 works across common enterprise analytics and data environments, including Google Analytics 4, Google Tag Manager, Looker Studio, BigQuery and wider first-party data or reporting stacks. The recommended architecture depends on existing technology, governance and business requirements. - Question: Can Sophus3 support multi-market measurement? Answer: Yes. A typical requirement is to create common definitions, data layers, access controls and reporting standards while preserving the local detail that market teams need. This makes regional comparisons more reliable and reduces duplicated implementation work. - Question: What makes the consultancy automotive-specific? Answer: The work is informed by automotive journeys, model and market structures, retailer pathways, configurator behaviour and sector benchmarks. That context helps technical implementation answer commercial questions rather than stopping at generic traffic and conversion reporting. ### AI Visibility Automotive-specific measurement of brand mentions, citations, topics and competitor visibility in AI-generated answers. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/ai-visibility - Question: What is automotive AI visibility? Answer: Automotive AI visibility measures whether and how a brand, model or service appears in answers generated by AI discovery tools. Sophus3 evaluates commercially relevant automotive questions by topic, market and competitor instead of reducing performance to one generic visibility score. - Question: What does an AI visibility analysis measure? Answer: An analysis can examine brand and model mentions, position within answers, cited sources, topic coverage, competitor presence and differences between markets or AI systems. Repeated measurement can show where visibility is strengthening, weakening or shifting to another source. - Question: How can an automotive brand improve AI visibility? Answer: The right action depends on the diagnosed gap. Priorities may include clearer authoritative content, better coverage of high-value questions, stronger evidence and source signals, improved technical accessibility, or closing topic areas where competitors currently provide the most useful answer. - Question: Is AI visibility the same as SEO? Answer: No. They overlap because accessible, authoritative web content can influence both, but AI answers may synthesise several sources and behave differently across prompts and models. Sophus3 treats AI discovery as a distinct measurement layer connected to search, content and wider customer behaviour. ### Google Analytics Partner Services GA4, Google Tag Manager, Looker Studio, BigQuery and multi-market measurement implementation. The page includes a browser-only automotive GA4 maturity self-assessment; visitor answers are not transmitted or stored. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/google-analytics - Question: Which Google measurement services does Sophus3 provide? Answer: Services include GA4 audits and implementation, Google Tag Manager and server-side tagging, consent-aware measurement design, Looker Studio reporting, BigQuery data workflows, governance, documentation and ongoing optimisation. The scope is shaped around the business decision and existing stack. - Question: Can Sophus3 audit an existing GA4 implementation? Answer: Yes. An audit can review data collection, event and conversion design, data layers, consent behaviour, cross-domain journeys, filters, access, integrations and reporting quality. The output should distinguish urgent data-quality risks from longer-term improvement opportunities. - Question: Does Sophus3 support complex multi-site environments? Answer: Yes. Automotive organisations often operate multiple brand, market, campaign, configurator and retailer journeys. Sophus3 can define common measurement standards and governance while accommodating the differences required by specific sites, markets and teams. - Question: Why use an automotive specialist for Google Analytics? Answer: Platform configuration alone does not determine which interactions matter. Automotive context helps connect GA4 and tagging decisions with model research, configuration, stock search, retailer hand-offs, leads and the cross-market reporting questions faced by OEM teams. ### Market Entry Intelligence Demand, competitor and launch measurement for challenger and growth automotive brands. Canonical page: https://sophus3.com/challenger-brands - Question: What is automotive market-entry intelligence? Answer: Market-entry intelligence combines demand, competitor, digital readiness and measurement evidence to guide where and how an automotive brand should launch or scale. It creates an early fact base before the new entrant has years of local sales and campaign history. - Question: What should a challenger brand measure before launch? Answer: Useful foundations include category and model demand, competitor attention, audience and search behaviour, website and configurator readiness, channel benchmarks, core KPIs and a consistent way to compare markets. The mix should reflect the launch strategy and available evidence. - Question: Can the approach scale across countries? Answer: Yes. Sophus3 can establish a shared measurement framework and management view, then add market-specific detail as teams, partners and digital journeys mature. This helps new entrants compare performance without forcing every market into an identical operating model. - Question: How does an engagement usually begin? Answer: It can start with a focused benchmark, launch-readiness assessment or measurement design project. Once the initial question is answered, the work can extend into instrumentation, recurring intelligence, campaign measurement or market enablement where the evidence justifies the next step. ## Named client relationships Automotive clients shown on the Sophus3 website: Audi, Volkswagen, Škoda, SEAT, CUPRA, Hyundai, Peugeot, Citroën, Changan, Opel, Ford, Toyota, Renault, Mercedes-Benz, Jaguar, BMW, Nissan, XPeng, MINI, Lexus, Kia, Land Rover, DS Automobiles, Honda, Dacia, Fiat, Omoda, Vauxhall, Subaru, Alfa Romeo, Alpine, Mazda, Jeep, Infiniti, GWM, Polestar. Media and measurement clients shown on the Sophus3 website: ITV, Carwow, Haymarket, Amazon Prime, Sky. ## Published evidence and research - Best-practice guide to automotive digital measurement (how to build a measurement framework for an automotive brand or model campaign): https://sophus3.com/automotive-digital-measurement-guide/ - Case studies: https://sophus3.com/case-studies - Insights index: https://sophus3.com/insights - EV Index research archive: https://sophus3.com/ev-index. Published as a research property within Sophus3 Insights. - Independent attribution example: Sophus3’s published ITV and Carwow Auto Match work reported 129% more visits across the automotive brand site and Carwow, 133% greater effectiveness at moving exposed viewers towards active mid-funnel actions, and a 27% reduction in competitor brands considered by exposed Carwow users. These are specific published example results, not universal performance claims. ## Published insights ### Best-practice guide to automotive digital measurement - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/automotive-digital-measurement-guide/ - Published: 2026-10-13 - Updated: 2026-10-13 - Category: Guide - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: How to build a measurement framework for an automotive brand or model campaign: seven steps, a worked example and a pre-launch checklist, drawn from more than twenty years of measuring car-buyer behaviour. This guide is for brand, national sales company and agency teams who need to show what an automotive digital campaign changed. It draws on more than twenty years of Sophus3 work measuring car-buyer behaviour across European markets: eDataXchange benchmarking of more than 500 automotive websites, independent TV and streaming attribution, and analytics projects for manufacturers and the apps and publishers around them. It is written around one question we are asked often: how do you build a measurement framework for an automotive brand or model campaign that people will actually use to make decisions? ## The framework in seven steps - **1. Start with the decision**, not the dashboard. - **2. Map the buying journey** to signals you can observe. - **3. Choose KPIs for each stage**, and one metric that decides. - **4. Set the baseline and the competitive context** before launch. - **5. Pick a method that can show cause**, not just correlation. - **6. Fix tracking and consent** before the first impression. - **7. Report for the next decision**, including when the answer is “not yet clear”. ## Step 1: Start with the decision “Measure the campaign” is not a brief. Write down the decision the results will inform: keep, cut or move budget between channels; choose which model or market gets the next flight; decide whether a new creative route goes national. Then write what you would do if the result were strong, weak or inconclusive. If every outcome leads to the same action, you are commissioning a report, not decision support. Be clear about the type of campaign. Brand work changes consideration over months, so its evidence is shifts in research and share over time. Model and tactical activity should move model research, configurations and enquiries within weeks. Judging one by the other’s yardstick is the most common reason good campaigns are cut. ## Step 2: Map the buying journey to observable signals Car buying is long and non-linear, and most of the research happens online before anyone visits a showroom. Map each stage to signals you can actually observe: - **Interest:** branded and model search, new and returning visitors to the brand site, research on review sites and marketplaces. - **Consideration:** model-page visits, gallery and specification engagement, comparisons, configurator starts, return visits. - **Intent:** configurator completions, price and finance calculators, stock-locator searches, dealer-locator use, brochure and test drive requests. - **Conversion:** qualified leads, reservations and orders, and sales matched back to leads in CRM. Note where each signal lives: on the brand site, on dealer and partner sites such as marketplaces and finance providers, or only in CRM. The joins between those systems are where most automotive measurement breaks. ## Step 3: Choose KPIs for each stage, and one that decides Pick one or two KPIs per stage, then a single deciding metric that matches the campaign objective: - For a **brand campaign**, use a relative measure such as digital market share, the brand’s share of visits among its competitor set, or its share of model research in the segment. - For a **model or tactical campaign**, use high-intent actions per exposed in-market buyer: configurations, test drive requests, stock searches. - For **lead generation**, agree a definition of a qualified lead with sales before launch, and track lead-to-sale, not lead volume alone. Leave out metrics that move for reasons unrelated to the campaign. Page views, time on site and raw clicks change with site design, consent rates and bot traffic as much as with advertising. ## Step 4: Set the baseline and the competitive context Absolute numbers mislead in automotive. Demand moves with the season, registration-plate changes, model launches, incentives and fuel prices. Sophus3 data has shown EV research jump when fuel costs rose and when Germany changed its EV incentives, for reasons that had nothing to do with any one brand’s advertising. So measure relative to the market. Digital market share shows whether you grew or the whole market did. When Hyundai sponsored the FIFA World Cup, its European digital audience share still fell year on year. That is a signal, not a verdict: competitor launches and incentives move share too. It is exactly why the comparison has to be agreed in advance. Before launch, fix the comparison: a prior period, a comparable market, a named competitor set or an unexposed audience. Write it into the plan so nobody chooses the flattering baseline afterwards. ## Step 5: Pick a method that can show cause Different questions need different methods. State the limits of the one you choose in the plan. - **Exposed versus unexposed:** compare people who saw the ad with similar people who did not. This is how Auto Match measures ITVX campaigns: across more than 12 months, exposed viewers were 181% more likely to visit the advertiser’s site than the average visitor. Best for addressable TV, streaming and digital. - **Market or regional tests:** run in some areas and hold others back. Useful for outdoor, radio and retail activity that cannot be targeted to individuals. - **Before and after, with a competitor control:** compare your change with the competitor set’s change over the same weeks. Cheap and quick, but weaker when competitors launch at the same time. - **Marketing mix modelling:** for long-term budget allocation across channels. It needs years of history and is not a tool for in-flight decisions. - **Click-based attribution:** fine for digital housekeeping, but it credits the last click and undervalues the brand and model advertising that creates future demand. Do not use it to judge TV or brand campaigns. ## Step 6: Fix tracking and consent before launch In Sophus3’s analysis across mainstream car brands in the five largest European markets, fewer than half of website visitors consented to tracking, and roughly 40% of traffic disappeared from conventional analytics once consent dialogues were introduced. A campaign measured only through consented analytics can look weaker, or stronger, than it was. - Write the tagging plan from the KPIs in step 3, not from the site map. - Check consent rates by market, and use lawful consent-free measurement or modelling to fill the gap. - Track across domains: brand site, configurator, stock and dealer locators, finance and partner sites. - Use one set of campaign parameters across every agency and market. - Test events against real journeys before launch, not after the first report. - Harmonise definitions across markets, so a lead in Spain means the same as a lead in Germany. ## Step 7: Report for the next decision Run two rhythms. In flight, review a few leading indicators each week to catch problems early: tracking breaks, the wrong audience, a broken landing page. After the campaign, produce one read-out against the decision from step 1: the comparison used, the size of the effect, how confident you can be, and what you would do next. Say plainly when a result is inconclusive. A clear “we cannot tell yet, and here is what would settle it” is more useful than a confident number built on a weak baseline. Finally, add the newest part of the journey. Buyers increasingly research cars through AI assistants. Track how your brands and models appear in AI answers to the questions buyers ask, alongside your share of real digital demand. In the UK, Chinese brands’ share of AI visibility rose from around 15% in 2025 to almost 25% in 2026, while they attract about one in ten visits to car brand websites. AI answers and website demand do not move together, so measure both. ## A worked example: an EV model launch in three markets This is an illustrative example of the framework in use, not a client result. - **Decision:** which of three markets receives extra budget in the second wave. - **Signals:** model-page visits, configurator completions, test drive requests and EV running-cost calculator use. - **Deciding metric:** test drive requests per thousand exposed in-market buyers, compared with similar unexposed buyers. - **Baseline:** eight weeks before launch, plus the brand’s digital market share within a named set of six competing EV models. - **Method:** exposed versus unexposed for streaming and online video; before and after with a competitor control for outdoor. - **Tracking:** the configurator and the dealers’ test drive form sit on different domains, so cross-domain tracking and consent rates are checked in each market before launch. - **Read-out:** one market shows a clear uplift and receives the extra budget; another is inconclusive because a national incentive changed mid-campaign, so spend is held until the next read. ## Pre-launch checklist - The decision the results will inform is written down, with what you will do for each outcome. - Campaign type is agreed: brand, model or tactical. - Journey stages are mapped to signals, with the system each one lives in. - One deciding metric and no more than two KPIs per stage. - The baseline, comparison and competitor set are agreed in writing. - The method is chosen and its limits are stated. - The tagging plan follows the KPIs and has been tested on real journeys. - Consent rates are known for each market, with a plan for the gap. - Campaign parameters and lead definitions are harmonised across agencies and markets. - The read-out date, owner and format are booked before launch. ## Mistakes we see most often - Judging a brand campaign on last-click leads. - Reporting absolute traffic without the market context. - Switching the baseline after seeing the results. - Discovering broken tracking in the first post-campaign report. - Treating “inconclusive” as failure, then cutting the budget anyway. ## Talk it through If you are planning a campaign and want a second view on the framework, [talk to Sophus3](/contact?topic=analytics). You can also read [how to brief an automotive measurement project](/how-to-brief-automotive-measurement/), the [Auto Match case study](/case-study-itv-carwow/) and [why consent matters for automotive analytics](/the-data-black-hole-frustrating-car-brands-digital-teams/). Q: How do I build a measurement framework for an automotive digital brand campaign? A: Start with the decision the results will inform, map the car-buying journey to signals you can observe, choose one deciding metric, agree the baseline and competitor set before launch, pick a method that can show cause, fix tracking and consent first, and report against the original decision. Q: Which KPIs matter most for automotive digital campaigns? A: It depends on the campaign. Brand campaigns are best judged on relative measures such as digital market share or share of model research. Model and tactical campaigns should be judged on high-intent actions, such as configurations and test drive requests, per exposed in-market buyer. Q: How do you measure the effect of TV or streaming advertising on car buyers? A: Compare people who saw the ad with similar people who did not, then track what each group did next: site visits, model research, configurations and enquiries. Auto Match, run by ITV and Carwow with Sophus3 as measurement partner, measures ITVX campaigns this way. Q: How much data do car brands lose to cookie consent? A: In Sophus3’s analysis of mainstream car brands in the five largest European markets, fewer than half of visitors consented to tracking, and around 40% of traffic disappeared from conventional analytics after consent dialogues were introduced. Q: What is digital market share in automotive? A: Digital market share is a brand’s share of visits to car brand websites within its competitor set. Because it is relative, it shows whether a brand grew faster than the market, which absolute traffic cannot. Q: Should automotive brands measure visibility in AI assistants? A: Yes. Buyers increasingly research cars through AI assistants, so brands should track how their brands and models appear in AI answers to real buyer questions, and compare that with their share of digital demand. Figures quoted come from Sophus3 analyses published on this site: consent and data loss (June 2024), Auto Match campaign analysis (October 2026) and AI visibility in the UK (September 2026). The worked example is illustrative. ### Car brands solve the TV puzzle with Auto Match - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/car-brands-solve-tv-puzzle-with-auto-match/ - Published: 2026-10-09 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: A record number of car brands have signed up for Auto Match, the smart attribution partnership between ITV, Carwow and Sophus3. Twelve months of campaigns show what streamed TV viewers do next. A record number of car brands have signed up for **Auto Match, the smart attribution partnership between ITV, Carwow and Sophus3**. More than 10 leading manufacturers, including both established and challenger brands, have run Auto Match campaigns so far, and several have already booked repeat campaigns. ## How Auto Match works At its core, Auto Match is a **privacy-safe targeting and measurement methodology**. It combines Carwow’s unique audience of in-market car buyers with Sophus3 website analytics, and associates those buyers with registered ITVX streaming users. The result is the **first scalable solution for automotive that directly links streamed TV advertising exposure to real consumer actions**, bridging the long-standing gap between brand advertising and performance measurement. ![Diagram: Carwow in-market car buyers and Sophus3 website analytics feed a privacy-safe match with registered ITVX streaming users, which enables smart targeting on ITVX and measurement of real consumer actions: site visits, model engagement and digital market share](assets/img/insights/auto-match-how-it-works.webp "How Auto Match connects streamed TV advertising with what car buyers do next. Source: Sophus3, ITV and Carwow.") ## What 12 months of campaigns show Auto Match now has **more than 12 months of successful campaign analysis** behind it, revealing how ITVX delivers car buyers who go on to take measurable, high-intent actions. Compared with the average visitor, Auto Match viewers are: - **181% more likely** to visit the advertiser’s site. - **50% more likely** to engage with the advertised model. - Associated with an **18% uplift in digital market share**. ![Bar chart: compared with an average visitor indexed at 100, Auto Match viewers are 181% more likely to visit the advertiser’s site and 50% more likely to engage with the advertised model; Auto Match campaigns are associated with an 18% uplift in digital market share](assets/img/insights/auto-match-viewers-vs-average-visitor.webp "Auto Match viewers compared with the average visitor. Source: Sophus3 Auto Match campaign analysis.") ## Rapid adoption by car advertisers Major automotive advertisers have adopted the platform quickly, with **five more campaigns live** as this story was published. > “Auto Match is succeeding because it gives car brands a deep-dive into the effect of streamed TV advertising on buyers. Our unbeatable combination of Carwow data, ITV smart targeting and Sophus3 attribution gives auto advertisers an unprecedented level of transparency.” **Steve Machin**, Partnerships Director, Sophus3 ## See what your TV advertising changes Auto Match measures what streamed TV viewers do next, not only how many saw the ad. Read how it works in the [ITV × Carwow case study](/case-study-itv-carwow/), or explore [independent automotive attribution](/attribution). Interested in understanding how your TV advertising influences the car buyer journey? [Talk to Sophus3](/contact?topic=attribution). Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn announcement of October 2026. Figures compare Auto Match viewers with the average visitor across more than 12 months of campaign analysis. ### Is AI helping Chinese car brands grow in the UK? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/is-ai-helping-chinese-car-brands-grow/ - Published: 2026-09-30 - Category: AI & Search - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Chinese brands' share of AI visibility in the UK has jumped from around 15% to almost 25%. They now attract one in ten visits to car brand websites. When UK car buyers ask an AI assistant for advice, Chinese brand names are increasingly part of the answer. According to the Sophus3 AI Visibility Index, Chinese car brands' share of **AI visibility in the UK** has jumped from around 15% in 2025 to almost 25% this year. ![Area chart: Chinese brands' share of UK AI visibility, around 15% through 2025, jumping to almost 25% in 2026](assets/img/insights/chinese-brands-ai-visibility-uk.webp "Chinese brands' share of AI visibility in the UK. Source: Sophus3 AI Visibility Index UK.") ## From three brands to nineteen There are now 19 Chinese brands officially on sale in the UK, up from three in 2021. Most of that growth has come in the last two years: seven brands in 2024, 16 in 2025 and 19 in 2026. ![Bar chart: Chinese car brands on sale in the UK, 3 in 2021, 4 in 2022, 6 in 2023, 7 in 2024, 16 in 2025 and 19 in 2026](assets/img/insights/chinese-brands-on-sale-uk.webp "Number of Chinese car brands on sale in the UK. Source: Sophus3 eDataXchange UK.") ## One in ten car brand website visits The visibility is turning into attention. Chinese brands now attract **one in ten visits to car brand websites** in the UK, up from around 8% at the start of 2025, according to Sophus3 eDataXchange. ![Area chart: Chinese brands' share of UK car brand website visits, rising from around 8% in early 2025 to about 11% in 2026](assets/img/insights/chinese-brands-web-visits-uk.webp "Chinese brands' share of visits to car brand websites in the UK. Source: Sophus3 eDataXchange UK.") ## And into registrations The showroom tells the same story. Chinese brands took 15% of UK new car registrations in the first half of 2026, rising to 21% in August, according to SMMT figures. MG remains the volume leader, with sales up 15% in the first six months of the year, while BYD is up 94% compared with 2025. The latest serious brand to launch, AION Auto UK, has offered an unprecedented eight years of free servicing, MOT, roadside assistance and warranty. ## What it means for every brand in the market - **AI answers are now part of the shortlist.** If a buyer's first conversation is with an assistant, the brands it names, and the sources it cites, shape who gets considered. - **The competitive set has changed.** Benchmarking only against traditional rivals can miss where online attention is actually going. - **Digital share moves before registrations.** Tracking share of brand website visits shows momentum early, market by market. ## Benchmark your digital performance in EU5 If you are a Chinese auto brand looking to benchmark your digital performance across the UK, Germany, France, Italy and Spain, or an established player trying to understand the new digital landscape, [contact us](/contact) for a free introductory overview. Adapted from Sophus3's LinkedIn post, September 2026. AI visibility figures from the Sophus3 AI Visibility Index UK; website visit figures from Sophus3 eDataXchange UK; registration figures from SMMT. Charts redrawn from Sophus3 data, with monthly values approximate. ### How does sport sponsorship work for car brands? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/how-does-sport-sponsorship-work-for-car-brands/ - Published: 2026-09-24 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sport out-performed every other TV genre for driving response to car brands, our client webinar with ITV revealed. But sponsorship builds value over time, not as a direct sales channel. Sport advertising and sponsorship out-performed every other TV genre for **driving response for automotive brands**, according to data revealed at the latest Sophus3 client webinar. With expert speakers Stefano Figoni from ITV, strategy consultant Richard Hughes and Sophus3's own Sam Robson, the event examined whether the 2026 summer of sport was worth the estimated €1bn spent on European automotive sponsorship. ## What happened after people saw the ads Using **Sophus3 and ITVX IP-matched attribution** data, we analysed what consumers did after exposure. - **13% visit-through rate.** Sport campaigns generated the highest visit-through rate to automotive brands of any TV genre, above the UK online-TV benchmark. - **26,250 attributed visits.** ITVX's World Cup advertising drove 26,250 attributed visits within five days of exposure, Stefano revealed. - **+7.5% household site visits** within 24 hours of exposure. Exposed visitors were just as valuable, too, with engagement showing no signs of deterioration. ## Hyundai and Kia: a shaky start, then a lasting lift After a shaky start, FIFA World Cup partners Hyundai Motor Company and Kia Europe saw their combined digital market share rise across the major European markets. It remained above its pre-tournament level afterwards. ![Three line charts of Hyundai and Kia combined digital market share in EU5: falling before the World Cup, recovering sharply during it, and staying higher after it](assets/img/insights/hyundai-kia-world-cup-before-during-after.webp "Hyundai and Kia combined digital market share across EU5, before, during and after the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Source: Sophus3 eDataXchange EU5.") Their visibility in ChatGPT, Gemini and DeepSeek answers, however, showed no obvious movement. A sponsorship can lift brand-site attention without changing what AI assistants say about a brand. ## Start with the science Richard, who has held senior leadership roles at GM and Stellantis, summed up the planning lesson: > “If you start your planning with the science, your overall campaign is going to be so much more effective.” ## What the panel concluded Sponsorship is not a direct sales channel. Its value builds progressively through **awareness, brand image and engagement**, and it pays off when rights, activation, measurement and long-term commitment are planned together. - **Define success before the budget is spent,** against benchmarks for your category and competitors. - **Measure what exposed audiences do next,** not just how many people saw the brand. - **Look beyond the tournament window,** because the Hyundai and Kia lift showed up after the shaky start and held afterwards. Planning sponsorship or TV activity for 2027? [Talk to us](/contact) about independent, IP-matched measurement. Adapted from Sophus3's LinkedIn post summarising its September 2026 client webinar with ITV. Attribution figures from Sophus3 and ITVX IP-matched data; digital market share from Sophus3 eDataXchange EU5. ### How to brief an automotive measurement project - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/how-to-brief-automotive-measurement/ - Published: 2026-09-07 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Six questions to agree before commissioning a campaign study, website audit or competitive benchmark. A useful measurement brief makes the decision clear before it specifies a report. These six questions help a team get there. ## 1. What decision will the work support? Be specific. “Understand performance” is broad. “Decide which model journey needs attention” or “assess whether a campaign reached people who went on to research the car” gives the analysis a purpose. ## 2. What counts as a meaningful outcome? Separate exposure, visits, engagement, leads and sales. Each answers a different question. Agree which actions matter and what the available data can actually observe. ## 3. What is the comparison? A change needs context: a prior period, another market, a competitor benchmark or a suitable comparison audience. Check whether seasonality, model launches or incentives could explain part of the difference. ## 4. What evidence is available? List the sources, coverage, definitions, permissions and known gaps. A missing connection should be visible in the brief, not concealed in the final report. ## 5. Who will interpret and act on the result? Include the people who understand the campaign, website or product. Agree who can make changes and when the evidence is needed. A report that arrives after the decision has limited use. ## 6. What would change your mind? Define what a strong, weak or inconclusive result would mean. Measurement should allow the original assumption to be challenged. ## A brief you can bring to the first conversation - The decision and its deadline. - The markets, models, audiences or channels in scope. - The outcomes and baseline you want to examine. - Available data and its limitations. - The people responsible for interpretation and action. You do not need every answer before contacting us. An honest list of unknowns is a useful starting point. A practical guide drawing on the measurement approach described across Sophus3’s published work. ### Did the World Cup pay Hyundai back? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/did-the-world-cup-pay-hyundai-back/ - Published: 2026-09-02 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: A big sponsorship moment does not always produce a bigger digital audience. Hyundai’s World Cup performance shows why context matters. Hyundai’s Next Starts Now campaign made the FIFA World Cup a major automotive marketing moment. But our eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking analysis found that Hyundai’s European digital audience share fell year-on-year, with little uplift around the tournament itself. ## A signal, not a verdict That does not establish that the sponsorship failed. Audience share is relative: model launches, incentives, competitor spending and competitor performance can all move it. A campaign may also influence consideration without producing an immediate website visit. ## What would answer the question? The useful question is what exposed customers went on to do, compared with an appropriate baseline. Independent measurement needs to distinguish reach from consideration and purchase intent, while keeping the competitive environment in view. Our September webinar with ITV and guests explores measurement of automotive sponsorship and advertising. The question is not simply whether the campaign attracted attention, but whether that attention mattered. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 2 September 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Does digital market share translate into sales? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/does-digital-market-share-translate-into-sales/ - Published: 2026-08-27 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Comparing digital audiences with UK registrations across 15 brands reveals why traffic volume is only part of the story. We mapped eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking digital audience share against UK registrations for 15 automotive brands. Volkswagen stood out: a strong digital audience accompanied the highest registration share in our sample. MG, Hyundai and Omoda also had comparatively strong sales against smaller digital footprints. That may indicate efficient, high-intent marketing, but the comparison alone cannot establish why. ## Bigger audiences, different outcomes BMW had the largest digital share, but registrations fell below what that audience might suggest. Aspirational browsing, the “enthusiast tax”, is one possible explanation. Nissan also attracted more digital share than its registration performance suggested; interest in launches such as the new Leaf may take time to become sales. Toyota and Mercedes-Benz occupied similar territory, with substantial audiences that did not translate proportionately into registrations. ## Quality matters more than volume These are two different measures, not a direct visitor-to-sale conversion rate. Buying cycles, fleet sales and timing can affect the comparison. Use the gap to ask better questions about intent and customer journeys, rather than treating more traffic as an end in itself. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 27 August 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Did auto brands spend €30 per World Cup car buyer? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/world-cup-automotive-cost-per-intender/ - Published: 2026-08-18 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Our estimate puts World Cup automotive spending at €30 per European new-car intender reached, not per fan, sale or converted customer. The headline needs its denominator. Our analysts estimated that the automotive industry spent around €30 for each European viewer intending to buy a new car within the next 12 months. ## How we reached the estimate - Around 250 million Europeans watched some of the World Cup, based on aggregated broadcaster audience averages. - Applying purchase-intention data and adjusting for the audience’s demographic profile produced an estimate of 25 million new-car intenders. - Estimated automotive advertising, sponsorship and activation spending of €750 million divided by 25 million intenders gives €30 per intender reached. ## Reach is not return Every input is an estimate. Audience aggregation, purchase-intention assumptions and the spending total affect the result. It is neither a cost per sale nor evidence of incremental revenue. The calculation is a starting point for a harder conversation: what did sponsorship and advertising change? Our 17 September discussion, “Was the summer of sport really worth €1bn?”, brings Sophus3 and guests together to explore that question. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 18 August 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### German incentives turbocharge EV interest - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/german-incentives-turbocharge-ev-interest/ - Published: 2026-08-12 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Q2 2026 brought stronger EV research across the EU5. Germany led the rise in consumer interest, while affordability remained a crucial test. Germany recorded its strongest Sophus3 EV Index quarter in more than a year. The Q2 2026 index showed record numbers researching electric vehicles and improvements across all five major European markets. ## Interest responds quickly Consumer interest rose by 12 index points in Germany, eight in the UK and six in France. These are point changes, not percentage increases. The UK improved across all three dimensions: consumer interest, affordability and choice, and infrastructure. Germany’s rise coincided with the launch of an EV subsidy portal. Our August post reported support of up to €6,000 for lower-income households, including eligible registrations from 1 January. This is historical context, not current eligibility guidance. ## Interest still has to meet affordability Infrastructure appeared less constraining in leading markets than it once was. The bigger questions were how quickly buyers responded to policy announcements and whether affordable choices could keep pace. In Italy, the Leapmotor T03 helped stimulate interest. The post reported prices as low as €4,900 in some cases after subsidies and manufacturer discounts, alongside debate over public support for overseas-produced vehicles. Those exceptional prices should not be read as a general offer. The EV Index is our research property for tracking readiness, not a standalone service. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 12 August 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### EV Index Q2 2026: Germany leads a rise in European EV interest - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/germany-sees-record-numbers-researching-evs/ - Published: 2026-08-12 - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Germany, France and the UK improved as more buyers researched electric vehicles. Affordability still separates interest from readiness. ## Consumer interest strengthens Sophus3’s Q2 2026 EV Index reports improving EV readiness across the markets it tracks. Germany’s overall score rose from 68 to 76, France moved from 64 to 70, and the UK increased from 59 to 67. The index brings together consumer interest, affordability and choice, and charging infrastructure. It is a readiness measure, rather than a count of electric vehicles sold. ## Germany’s policy moment Germany’s consumer-interest score rose from 51 to 63. The report links that increase with the opening of the country’s subsidy application portal in May. The timing suggests that policy changes can turn latent interest into active research, although the index alone does not establish causation. ## Readiness is more than attention France’s gains were supported by consumer interest and infrastructure. In the UK, all three components improved. Italy’s affordability score fell from 64 to 53, showing why improving curiosity does not necessarily remove purchase barriers. ## What automotive teams should watch - Compare buyer interest with affordability and charging conditions in each market. - Track the timing of policy announcements alongside changes in research activity. - Use the index to inform market questions, then examine model demand and commercial outcomes separately. ## About this edition This summary covers Q2 2026 and was published by Sophus3 on 12 August 2026. It focuses on Germany, France and the UK; contact Sophus3 for the full six-market results. Summary of the original Sophus3 publication; original publication date retained. ### Which auto brands are getting AI right? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/which-auto-brands-are-getting-ai-right/ - Published: 2026-06-29 - Category: AI & Search - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: A recap of our June webinar: understanding automotive AI performance starts with looking beyond your own organisation. Our June webinar brought together Sophus3’s automotive data expertise and findings from our client survey to examine how AI is changing digital marketing. It is easy to get absorbed in internal tools, reporting and processes. But those tell only part of the story. To understand individual brand performance, teams also need to see what customers encounter and how competitors compare. ## Three questions worth taking back to your team - Where does your brand appear in AI answers, and where is it absent? - How does that visibility compare with established digital audience share? - Are leadership and responsibilities clear enough to act on the findings? These questions connect the themes explored in our survey and visibility analysis. They are a practical discussion framework, not a new ranking of brands. ## Missed the discussion? The 25 June event has taken place. Contact Sophus3 to ask about the findings or available materials; this article does not imply that a public recording is available. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 29 June 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### How MG is punching above its weight in AI - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/how-mg-is-punching-above-its-weight-in-ai/ - Published: 2026-06-16 - Category: AI & Search - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Our UK April comparison shows why challenger-brand visibility in AI can look very different from website audience share. Using our eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking methodology, we compared digital audience share with AI visibility share for Chinese brands in the UK. In the April data, MG was the strongest performer in this comparison. ## Two measures, different leaders Polestar and Smart performed strongly in AI, while BYD and Jaecoo were stronger in traditional digital audience share. The finding matters because website traffic alone does not describe a brand’s position in AI-assisted discovery. In the wider comparison, MG joined Hyundai, Volvo and Skoda in achieving stronger AI visibility relative to their digital audiences. MINI and Porsche showed the opposite pattern, while Volkswagen and Toyota were more balanced. ## What should a challenger brand do with this? Start by separating the measures. AI visibility describes presence in answers; audience share describes website attention. Neither alone proves sales impact, and a stronger result on one does not guarantee future growth. We discussed these differences alongside our client survey at the 25 June webinar. That event is now past; the recap brings the themes together. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 16 June 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Sophus3 celebrates at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-celebrates-at-aop-awards/ - Published: 2026-06-11 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: A night to recognise the people behind Auto Match, our shortlisted automotive attribution partnership with ITV and Carwow. The Sophus3 team celebrated at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards after Auto Match was shortlisted. This was recognition of the partnership’s work, not an announcement of an award win. At its core is matching methodology derived from eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking, which Sophus3 has delivered to the automotive industry since 2003. It connects in-market buyers and registered streaming users with campaign exposure and subsequent behaviour. ## From exposure to observable actions More than ten car brands had participated over the preceding 12 months. The published campaign findings included: - 129% more website visits. - 133% more mid-funnel actions. - 50% higher likelihood to visit. - 38% increase in in-market behaviour. These are reported campaign findings, not a universal performance promise or four interchangeable measures. Campaign-specific baselines and methods matter when interpreting them. ## A partnership built by people Our thanks to the ITV and Carwow teams, and to Sam Robson, Ryan White, Gerrit van Heerden, Ramanathan Sanjeevan and Steve Machin at Sophus3. This work depends on sustained collaboration as much as on the technology. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 11 June 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Car buyers want transparency when talking to AI - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/car-buyers-want-transparency-when-talking-to-ai/ - Published: 2026-06-09 - Category: AI & Search - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Our client survey points to the importance of clear AI labelling, but these are executives’ views, not a direct survey of car buyers. In our survey of senior automotive clients, 56% said trust would need to be designed into AI interactions from the start, including clear labelling. Just 5% thought customers would be uncomfortable with AI. ## Whose views are these? We asked senior client executives anonymously about their companies’ approach to AI. The results describe those respondents’ views of customer needs. They should not be presented as percentages of consumers. Sophus3 works with more than 25 major automotive brands in Europe, but that company reach is not the survey sample size. The original post did not give a respondent count. ## Put transparency into the experience A useful implication is to make it clear when an interaction involves AI, rather than leaving customers to guess. Teams should consider what happens when an answer is uncertain or a customer needs human help. These are practical design questions, not additional survey findings. The survey formed part of our 25 June webinar. Read the recap for the wider discussion of AI performance and organisational readiness. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 9 June 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### We are not getting AI right, admit automotive brands - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/automotive-ai-readiness-leadership-gap/ - Published: 2026-06-02 - Category: AI & Search - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: An anonymous client survey found low confidence in AI readiness, with leadership and role definition emerging as key challenges. When a new technology arrives, one of the hardest questions is how your organisation compares. Are competitors investing, waiting, succeeding or struggling? We asked senior automotive clients to assess their own companies’ approach to AI. Very few felt their brand was doing well. The overall digital-readiness score averaged 2.1 out of five. ## The challenge is not only technical Leadership and clarity of responsibilities appeared to be central concerns. Without agreement on who owns decisions, promising experiments can remain disconnected from the work of marketing and customer teams. ## What the score does, and does not, say This was an anonymous client self-assessment, not an independent audit of every automotive brand. The original post did not state the sample size, so the result should not be treated as a representative industry census. It does offer a useful starting question: before buying another tool, can your team explain who sets priorities, who measures progress and who acts on the results? The findings were discussed at our 25 June webinar. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 2 June 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Which auto brands are matching AI with traditional digital? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ai-visibility-versus-digital-audience-share/ - Published: 2026-05-27 - Category: AI & Search - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Hyundai’s UK performance illustrates how AI visibility and website audience share can point in different directions. Our automotive AI visibility comparison was designed for an uncertain question: which brands are becoming more visible to customers using AI search? In our UK example, Hyundai led AI visibility despite holding only around 2% of digital audience share. MG, Volvo and Skoda also performed more strongly in AI than in traditional digital audience share. ## There is no single leaderboard MINI and Porsche were weaker on the AI measure relative to their digital audiences. Volkswagen and Toyota were more balanced. These patterns show why a single traffic report cannot capture every route into consideration. Our analysts track automotive brands across major European markets and multiple large language models. The comparison is grounded in automotive questions rather than generic brand mentions. ## Watch the relationship over time The open question is whether stronger AI visibility will deliver a lasting commercial advantage. This snapshot does not answer it. Monitor topic and market differences, compare with customer behaviour, and avoid turning visibility into a sales forecast. For a market-specific discussion, contact Sophus3’s AI visibility team. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 27 May 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Is Jaecoo a value brand, or premium? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/is-jaecoo-a-value-brand-or-premium/ - Published: 2026-05-19 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Cross-shopping data challenges familiar brand boundaries. Jaecoo is attracting attention from audiences established brands may consider their own. Years ago, we surprised Mercedes-Benz with a finding: its biggest online cross-shopping competitor in the UK was Kia. The Sportage was prompting buyers to look beyond conventional brand categories. A similar pattern is emerging around Jaecoo. Our eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking data shows interest from people also researching Audi and Tesla. The Jaecoo 7’s UK sales momentum, topping March’s chart and reaching the top ten in April, provided context for that attention. ## What shoppers compare matters More than one in ten Jaecoo customers in the online comparison were also considering Volkswagen. This describes digital cross-shopping, not confirmed purchases or ownership. For established brands, the important question is whether internal competitor lists still reflect the alternatives customers actually consider. ## Value and reputation both count Brand positioning is becoming more fluid as buyers weigh product quality and price. That does not make brand investment irrelevant. It makes reputation something to sustain, rather than assume. The lesson from Kia then and Jaecoo now is simple: listen to the customer’s shortlist, not just your own market segmentation. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 19 May 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Affordability remains a barrier to EV adoption - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-affordability-remains-the-barrier/ - Published: 2026-05-12 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Our spring EV Index analysis shows why stronger interest and better charging do not automatically make electric cars affordable. In the Sophus3 EV Index analysis published in May, no major EU5 market scored above 75 out of 100 for affordability and choice. The index combines consumer interest, affordability and choice, and infrastructure. An overall score of 100 represents parity in choosing, affording and owning an EV compared with a conventional-powertrain car. Norway and Denmark were the only markets reaching that threshold in the update. ## An uneven start to the year Germany maintained EV sales momentum. Elsewhere, demand was more fragile following heavy incentives at the end of 2025. Italy recorded the sharpest quarterly decline among the major markets, driven by lower consumer interest. Spain was broadly flat; France showed modest growth and the UK modest decline. The Netherlands fell sharply after a strong fourth quarter for sales and digital interest. ## Follow the three dimensions separately A market can have improving infrastructure but still lack the right cars at accessible prices. It can also experience a short-term surge around incentives that later fades. Read this spring update alongside the Q2 analysis to see how the picture changed, rather than treating observations from different quarters as contradictory. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 12 May 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Is streamed TV about to make car advertising interesting again? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/is-streamed-tv-about-to-make-car-advertising-interesting-again/ - Published: 2026-05-05 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Better measurement can give automotive brands more confidence to invest in creative TV advertising. Automotive TV advertising has often been criticised for playing safe. In our May commentary, we explored whether streaming’s closer connection with audiences could change that. The discussion followed Rory Sutherland’s argument, reported by Daniel Thomas in the Financial Times, that streaming is bringing new possibilities to television advertising. Our contribution is measurement: connecting exposure with what people subsequently do on automotive websites. ## What the campaign analysis found For one major European automotive brand, people exposed to a streamed-TV advertisement were: - 62% more likely to start lead forms than the website average. - 98% more likely to engage with the advertised model than average. - 54% more likely to record five visits than average. These comparisons describe the measured audiences in that analysis. They are not universal outcomes, and comparisons with the website average do not by themselves establish causation. ## Confidence to be more creative Sophus3 MD Scott Gairns recalled memorable campaigns such as Renault’s Nicole-Papa advertising. The opportunity is to combine that creative ambition with evidence about customer behaviour. Our Auto Match work with ITV and Carwow helps brands move the conversation beyond whether an advertisement was delivered to whether relevant actions followed. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 5 May 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Sabio: connecting streamed-TV audiences with automotive behaviour - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/case-study-sabio/ - Published: 2026-04-28 - Updated: 2026-09-07 - Category: Case Study - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Combining App Science audience targeting with Sophus3’s automotive attribution gives teams a clearer view of post-exposure engagement. ## The challenge Campaign delivery can tell a team who an advertisement reached. Sabio and Sophus3 wanted to examine whether that exposure was followed by relevant automotive-site activity. ## The work Sabio’s App Science supports audience targeting across mobile and connected TV. Sophus3 added automotive attribution informed by eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking, using matching to examine subsequent brand-site behaviour. ## The initial findings The update reported a 15% increase in digital market share for the advertising brand. Exposed visitors were more likely to visit advertised content, while retargeted users were more likely to visit the site than those exposed to CTV alone. ## What the findings mean The work links audience activation with observed customer behaviour. It gives marketing teams a more useful conversation about the investment than delivery totals alone. The post did not publish a numerical uplift for every outcome or a complete experimental design. The 15% figure is a reported relative increase, not a percentage-point gain or a guaranteed result. ## The decision this helps answer The analysis can help advertisers ask whether a targeted audience goes on to show relevant automotive behaviour. That question is more specific than whether the campaign reached its delivery target. ## What a follow-on brief should specify Agree the exposed and comparison audiences, the time window and the definitions of site engagement and digital market share. These details are needed to interpret the reported change responsibly. Based on Sophus3’s LinkedIn partnership announcement of 28 April 2026. ### New partnership reveals TV’s impact on automotive - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sabio-sophus3-streamed-tv-partnership/ - Published: 2026-04-28 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 and Sabio bring targeting and automotive measurement together to examine what happens after streamed-TV exposure. Sophus3 has combined its automotive attribution capability with Sabio’s advertising technology. Sabio’s App Science data engine supports audience targeting across mobile and connected TV; Sophus3 adds measurement of subsequent automotive-site behaviour. ## Initial findings The reported work included a 15% increase in digital market share for the advertising brand. Exposed visitors were more likely to view advertised content, while retargeted users were more likely to visit the brand’s site than those exposed to the CTV advertisement alone. The 15% figure is reported as an increase, not a 15-percentage-point gain. The post did not supply numerical uplifts for the other two findings. ## Connecting the evidence Sophus3’s approach draws on eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking and uses IP-address matching to examine subsequent activity on the brand’s site. Such measurement needs the appropriate privacy controls and permissions for its implementation. Sabio’s DJ Agahi described the partnership as bringing targeting capabilities together with Sophus3’s automotive knowledge. For our team, the aim is practical: give brands a clearer view of their investment in streamed television, using behaviour they can examine rather than delivery figures alone. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 28 April 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Sophus3 shortlisted for the AOP Digital Publishing Awards - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-shortlisted-aop-digital-publishing-awards/ - Published: 2026-04-23 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Our ITV and Carwow attribution partnership has been shortlisted in the AOP Awards research category. We are delighted that our attribution partnership with ITV and Carwow has been shortlisted in the research category at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards. ## Research beyond awareness The entry draws on eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking technology to connect exposure to ITVX advertising with subsequent actions on automotive brand websites. The aim is to examine behaviour further along the purchase journey, beyond awareness and favourability alone. ## Recognition for a shared effort This is work built across organisations. Our thanks to the ITV and Carwow partners and the Sophus3 team behind the analysis: Sam Robson, Ryan White, Gerrit van Heerden, Ramanathan Sanjeevan and Steve Machin. This article records the shortlist announcement, not an award win. Our June follow-up shares the team’s celebration and the published campaign findings. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 23 April 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### 10 ways to get your auto website right - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ten-ways-to-get-your-auto-website-right/ - Published: 2026-04-17 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Our webinar’s practical message: simplify around customer needs and measure the outcomes your business actually values. What is an automotive brand website really for in 2026? Neel Desor from What Car?, marketing leader Richard Hughes and Sophus3 lead analyst Sam Robson explored the question at our April webinar. ## Ten points to take back to your team - **1. Prioritise the roles.** Research, leads, ownership support and brand engagement all matter, but not equally on every page. - **2. Avoid a universal template.** There is no single correct model for every brand’s objectives and traffic. - **3. Learn from simpler sites.** Some newer brands reduce friction with focused, lead-oriented experiences. - **4. Manage depth actively.** Large sites can offer useful detail while also creating navigation problems. - **5. Measure business outcomes.** Page views and time on site are not sufficient definitions of success. - **6. Expect return visits.** Journeys are non-linear; a short visit may be a successful one. - **7. Design for the wider ecosystem.** Dealers, marketplaces and AI tools also influence decisions. - **8. Read traffic sources in context.** Paid-heavy and organic-led strategies can have different purposes. - **9. Protect trust.** Brand websites remain important sources of authoritative information. - **10. Challenge internal silos.** Website complexity can reflect organisational boundaries rather than customer needs. ## Start with one journey Choose a task customers need to complete. Review whether its content, navigation and measurement serve that task. The aim is not fewer pages for their own sake, but less unnecessary work for the visitor. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 17 April 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### EV research surges as fuel costs rise - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-research-surges-as-fuel-costs-rise/ - Published: 2026-04-14 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: March’s rise in electric-car research coincided with higher petrol and diesel prices across Europe. eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking recorded an average 23% increase in visits to EV model content across the EU5 in March. Over the period described in our post, petrol and diesel prices rose by 15% and 30% respectively. ## Research and registrations move together Pure EVs accounted for 18% of EU5 registrations in Q1, compared with 14% in Q1 2025. That is a four-percentage-point change in registration share, not a four per cent relative increase. The digital findings are consistent with stronger interest in electric vehicles, alongside improved registrations. ## A useful signal, not a causal verdict Higher fuel costs may encourage buyers to reconsider powertrain choices, but coinciding changes do not establish causation. Incentives, model availability and other market conditions can also affect demand. Online research is useful as an early indicator to monitor. It does not guarantee that every increase will become future sales. Read the subsequent EV Index updates for the broader picture of interest, affordability and infrastructure. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 14 April 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Why AI is not replacing auto brand sites, yet - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/why-ai-is-not-replacing-auto-brand-sites-yet/ - Published: 2026-04-09 - Category: AI & Search - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Traffic recovered after an early decline associated with AI-assisted search. Brand websites still have a role, but that role deserves examination. The arrival of AI-assisted search coincided with falls of up to 18% in traffic to automotive brand websites in 2025. Answers appearing directly in search results offered one possible explanation: people could find information without another click. From June 2025, the trend reversed. European automotive brand sites returned to growth, with December 2025 and January 2026 both up 15% year-on-year. ## Recovery does not mean nothing changed The figures do not prove that AI has stopped influencing discovery. They do suggest that brand websites remain important destinations for people considering a car. Teams need to examine what visitors come to do and how the site supports those tasks, rather than interpreting traffic alone as success or failure. ## From question to discussion We explored the issue at our 16 April webinar, with What Car? content specialist Neel Desor joining the panel. The event has taken place; our ten-point summary captures the practical discussion about trust, simplicity and meaningful measurement. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 9 April 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### What is an auto site really for in 2026? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/what-is-an-auto-site-for-in-2026/ - Published: 2026-04-07 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Lead generation, research or brand affinity? Different priorities are producing very different automotive websites. In theory, automotive brands invest in websites to help sell cars. In practice, comparing those sites reveals different priorities: some focus on leads, others on research, and others on building affinity. New entrants add further approaches to the mix. For customers, that variety can also mean unfamiliar journeys and unnecessary complexity. ## Agree the purpose before judging performance Sophus3 has spent more than two decades helping automotive brands understand digital behaviour. The contrast between strategies makes it important to ask what a website is intended to achieve before comparing its headline metrics. A research-led experience and a tightly focused lead-generation site should not automatically be judged by the same engagement targets. ## The April discussion Our 16 April webinar brought these questions to Richard Hughes, whose senior marketing experience includes General Motors and Stellantis. He had returned to the UK after roles in Zurich and Frankfurt and led the Stellantis UK EV rollout through the end of 2025. The event is now past. Read the published ten-point summary for the panel’s practical conclusions. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 7 April 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### App analytics, part three: make reporting useful - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/app-analytics-part-three-reporting/ - Published: 2026-04-02 - Updated: 2026-10-13 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: The final step in our Zapmap series: turn reliable tracking into reports that help people make decisions. Good tracking is necessary, but it is not the finish line. In the final part of our app analytics series, the focus shifts to reporting that people can understand and use. ## Build around the decisions - Choose a reporting platform that fits the task, whether GA4, Firebase or a BI tool such as Looker Studio. - Make key measures easy to read and connect them to business questions. - Track trends over time so teams can investigate change, not just review isolated totals. ## What we did with Zapmap Our work with the EV charging app included Looker Studio visualisation to connect the data with business priorities. This built on the goals and tracking work described in the first two articles. The point is not to make dashboards decorative. It is to help product teams and stakeholders see what matters, ask better questions and decide where to investigate. The original post did not report a numerical commercial uplift. The value described was a more usable reporting approach, supported by better measurement foundations. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 2 April 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Zapmap: app analytics built around the product team’s questions - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/case-study-zapmap/ - Published: 2026-04-02 - Updated: 2026-10-13 - Category: Case Study - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Zapmap’s product team wanted analytics it could act on. Sophus3 agreed the business goals first, repaired and validated the app tracking, then built Looker Studio reporting around the decisions the team makes. ## About the project Zapmap’s app helps electric-car drivers in the UK find and use public charge points. Its product team, led by Edmund Walsh, wanted analytics connected to the business priorities it was being asked to deliver. Sophus3 began by agreeing what success looked like, rather than starting with a dashboard. ![Three-stage diagram of the Zapmap app analytics project: agree business goals and KPIs, repair and validate tracking, then report for decisions in Looker Studio](assets/img/insights/zapmap-app-analytics-stages.webp "The three stages of the Zapmap app analytics project. Source: Sophus3.") ## Stage 1: agree what success means It is tempting to begin with tag management or a new dashboard. Without agreement on what success means, those tools simply produce more numbers. So the work started with the organisation’s objectives: - Discuss the business goals and define success for the app. - Translate those goals into a small set of clear KPIs. - Build a measurement and reporting framework to guide the audit. We then compared intent with experience. Does the customer journey in the app support the goals? Does the tracking capture the actions that matter? Mapping the existing tools, implementation guides and dashboards exposed missing events, inconsistent definitions and unreliable reports. ## Stage 2: repair and validate the tracking With the goals agreed, we audited the existing tracking and identified where it was not performing as expected. Working closely with Zapmap’s product team, we tested and validated each new implementation against real app behaviour. The priorities were: - Tracking that connects directly to the agreed goals. - Tag management that the team can maintain itself. - Data that decision-makers can rely on, not only data specialists. The product team’s knowledge of the app was essential here. Implementation is not finished because a tag exists; it is finished when the data reflects what users actually do. ## Stage 3: report for decisions Good tracking is necessary, but it is not the finish line. We built Looker Studio reporting that connects the data with Zapmap’s business priorities: - Key measures that are easy to read and tied to business questions. - Trends over time, so the team can investigate change rather than review isolated totals. - One shared view that stakeholders can discuss without reconstructing what each event means. ## What changed The project connected tracking and reporting with the questions stakeholders needed to answer, and made clear what was working, what was missing and what needed attention. The team now has a shared basis for discussing what users are doing and which changes to investigate. The published series did not quantify revenue or conversion uplift; its evidence is the measurement approach the team now uses. ## Lessons for any app or website team - Agree the decision before choosing the tool. - Treat tracking as unfinished until it has been tested against real user behaviour. - Design reports around questions and trends, not page counts. - Keep the product team involved; they know what the data should show. ## Read the series - [Part 1: start with the business goals](/app-analytics-part-one-business-goals/) - [Part 2: build reliable tracking](/app-analytics-part-two-tracking/) - [Part 3: report for decisions](/app-analytics-part-three-reporting/) Planning an app or website measurement project? [Talk to our analytics team](/contact?topic=analytics). Based on Sophus3’s three-part project series published on 17 March, 25 March and 2 April 2026. The project did not publish revenue or conversion figures. ### Auto Match: taking automotive attribution research to the AOP Awards - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/auto-match-aop-research-entry/ - Published: 2026-03-31 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Our award entry brings together ITVX audiences, Carwow data and Sophus3 measurement of post-advertising behaviour. An extended AOP Awards deadline allowed us to include the latest Auto Match findings in our research entry. Auto Match combines Carwow’s first-party audience data with registered ITVX users to support automotive targeting. At the time of this update, the solution was described as enabling manufacturers to reach more than 1.3 million known active new-car buyers. ## Measurement after exposure Sophus3 adds analysis of what follows advertising exposure, including website visits, configurations and relevant downstream outcomes where the data allows. The purpose is to connect audience activation with evidence from the purchase journey. The reach figure describes the addressable audience reported then. It is not the number of people reached by every campaign, nor a count of resulting sales. ## Follow the story This March article records the submission stage. The research was subsequently shortlisted in April, followed by the team’s awards-night update in June. Together, the three posts document the partnership’s progress without conflating an entry, a shortlist and a win. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 31 March 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### App analytics, part two: build a reliable tracking foundation - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/app-analytics-part-two-tracking/ - Published: 2026-03-25 - Updated: 2026-10-13 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: With business goals agreed, the next step is making sure app tracking measures the right things, and measures them correctly. In part one, we described how business objectives shape the analytics brief. Part two is about putting that brief into practice. ## Repair the foundations Our work with Zapmap included auditing existing tracking and identifying where it was not performing as expected. Working closely with the internal product team, we tested and validated new implementations. The priorities were: - Tracking that connects directly with business goals. - Tag management that the team can maintain. - Reporting designed for decision-makers, not only data specialists. ## Test what the customer actually does Implementation is not complete just because a tag exists. The measurement needs to reflect real app behaviour and the business question it is supposed to answer. The result described in our project update was a reporting structure built to support action, with data aligned to the agreed strategy. The update did not report a numerical growth figure. In part three, we move from reliable data collection to visual reporting and the conversations it should support. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 25 March 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### App analytics, part one: understand your customers better - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/app-analytics-part-one-business-goals/ - Published: 2026-03-17 - Updated: 2026-10-13 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Our Zapmap project began with business questions, not dashboards. Here is the first step in our three-part approach. Working with Zapmap’s product team, led by Edmund Walsh, we followed a three-step analytics framework: agree business goals, audit and repair tracking, and create ongoing insight. It can be tempting to begin with tag management or a new dashboard. Without agreement on what success means, those tools can simply produce more numbers. ## Start with the why - Discuss the organisation’s objectives and define success. - Translate those goals into clear KPIs. - Build a measurement and reporting framework to guide the audit. ## Compare intent with experience We then examine app usability and data quality. Does the customer journey support the intended goals? Does tracking capture the actions that matter? Mapping current tools, implementation guides and dashboards helps expose missing events, inconsistent definitions and unreliable reporting. The outcome is a clear view of what works, what is broken and what is absent. Part two explains how those findings become a stronger tracking implementation. Part three looks at reporting that product teams and stakeholders can use. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 17 March 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Where is your brand losing out in AI search? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/where-is-your-brand-losing-out-in-ai-search/ - Published: 2026-03-09 - Category: AI & Search - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: One overall AI visibility score can conceal serious gaps. Our three-market example shows why the topic matters. Our advice to automotive brands seeking a better AI search strategy is straightforward: measure it in enough detail to see what is missing. One example from our AI Auto Visibility analysis examined an unnamed major European brand across the UK, Germany and France. For finance, it appeared in more than 40% of relevant AI responses. ## Strong on finance, weaker elsewhere The same brand was 43% behind the best-in-class brand for EV visibility and 56% behind for aftersales. A reassuring overall picture could therefore conceal weaker performance on commercially important questions. These figures have different denominators: the finance number is a mention rate, while the EV and aftersales figures describe gaps to a benchmark. They should not be plotted as three equivalent visibility scores. ## Measure the customer’s questions Our analysts track brands across major European markets and multiple large language models, using an automotive-specific approach. Compare by topic, market and competitor. Then investigate the content and authority behind the result. Visibility is a useful diagnostic signal, not proof of a sale, and not a reason to name the anonymous brand by guesswork. Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post of 9 March 2026. Figures and market observations relate to that original update. ### Record numbers researching new EVs - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/record-numbers-researching-new-evs/ - Published: 2026-02-04 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: The Q4 2025 Sophus3 EV Index recorded stronger consumer interest across several European markets, even as affordability remained uneven. The Q4 2025 Sophus3 EV Index found rising consumer interest in electric vehicles across several major European markets. Germany moved from an overall index score of 58 to 63, France from 53 to 61, the UK from 60 to 62 and Italy from 30 to 39. The changes were strongly associated with consumer interest and policy activity. France and Italy both saw interest improve after new or renewed incentive measures, while the Netherlands experienced a particularly sharp increase in EV research ahead of expected tax changes. ## Affordability remains the constraint Charging infrastructure is increasingly becoming a baseline rather than the main differentiator in mature markets. The bigger question is whether consumers see EV ownership as economically compelling. Sophus3 therefore continues to track three pillars: consumer interest, affordability and choice, and infrastructure. The index covers the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the Netherlands, Denmark and Norway. ### Don’t ‘over-optimise’ your auto ad campaigns - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/how-to-measure-tv-campaigns/ - Published: 2026-02-03 - Category: Attribution - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 argues that over-reliance on click-based attribution can undervalue the brand and model activity that creates future demand. Automotive marketers risk reducing effectiveness if optimisation is driven too heavily by click-based attribution. That was one of the themes of the Sophus3 webinar “Are your digital and TV campaigns really working?”. Performance marketing remains essential, but focusing only on short-term return can sideline the brand and model activity that creates visibility and future consideration. The better response is not to stop investing in upper-funnel media, but to measure it more effectively. The webinar highlighted ITV and Carwow’s Auto Match collaboration, with Sophus3 providing independent measurement that links streamed TV exposure to subsequent automotive behaviour. ## Better questions for optimisation - Which audiences move further into the buying journey after exposure? - Which actions indicate real consideration rather than simply a click? - How does media change brand and competitor consideration? Sophus3’s position is that attribution should help marketers optimise without allowing individual platforms to “mark their own homework”. ### EV Index latest: UK sets pace for EV adoption - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-index-latest-uk-sets-pace-for-ev-adoption/ - Published: 2025-11-12 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: The UK moved ahead of Germany and France in the Sophus3 EV Index as consumer interest strengthened, while infrastructure and the used-EV market remained important constraints. The UK set the pace for EV readiness among the major European automotive markets in Sophus3's Q3 2025 EV Index, increasing its score for the sixth consecutive quarter as consumer interest strengthened. Sophus3 reported that UK digital market share for EVs had reached 43%, compared with 23% share for actual sales. Across the EU5, the UK moved ahead of both Germany and France with an overall Index score of 59. Germany scored 58 and France 53, while Spain and Italy remained further behind. ## What moved - The UK recorded stronger consumer interest and gains in affordability and choice. - Germany improved in consumer interest and charging infrastructure. - France retained very strong infrastructure provision. - Spain began to pull further ahead of Italy, although both remained lower-scoring markets. Sophus3 also highlighted the used-EV market as a growing constraint. Falling residual values can increase financing costs for new EVs and weaken both fleet and retail demand, showing why EV readiness cannot be understood from new-car registrations alone. The EV Index combines consumer interest, affordability and choice, and charging infrastructure to show whether the wider market conditions are supporting mainstream EV adoption. ### Key digital trends for your 2026 budget - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/key-digital-trends-for-your-2026-budget/ - Published: 2025-10-29 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Patrick Fuller - Summary: Sophus3's 2026 view: Chinese brands are building digital share, AI-assisted search is changing brand-site traffic, campaign measurement matters more, EV readiness is improving and engagement remains under pressure. ## Five trends shaping automotive digital in 2026 As budgeting season continued, Sophus3 clients asked for the key digital trends that should influence 2026 plans. - **Chinese brands are building digital market share.** Sophus3 reported that Chinese brands combined had reached 4% digital share, more than double the previous year. In the UK the figure was 6%, while EV digital share was touching 7% across EU5. - **AI-assisted search is changing discovery.** Before ChatGPT, traffic to car-brand sites in EU5 had been growing year-on-year; Sophus3 reported it was then declining by more than 7%. - **Campaign measurement is increasingly important.** Sophus3's work with ITV and Carwow is designed to validate the effect of TV advertising on the car-buying journey rather than relying on platform-reported metrics alone. - **EV readiness continues to evolve.** The Sophus3 EV Index showed encouraging growth since 2023, with the UK and Germany leading while Italy and Spain had more ground to make up. - **Customer engagement is under pressure.** Sophus3 reported a 21% fall in average dwell time for a visitor to an EU5 car-brand site, reinforcing the need to identify high-quality visitors and optimise their experience. ## What this means for automotive teams The common theme is measurement. Brands need market context, independent campaign evidence and a clearer understanding of how AI search and changing customer journeys affect the signals they rely on. This summary is adapted from Sophus3’s 2025 publication and related Sophus3 material. ### ITV × Carwow: measuring what car buyers do after a TV ad - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/case-study-itv-carwow/ - Published: 2025-10-14 - Updated: 2026-10-13 - Category: Case Study - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Auto Match links ITVX streamed-TV exposure with what in-market car buyers do next. Twelve months in, more than ten manufacturers have used it, and viewers are 181% more likely to visit the advertiser’s site. ## The question advertisers could not answer Streamed TV reaches car buyers at scale, but delivery reports stop at impressions. A brand could see how many people saw its ad, not whether those people went on to research the model, configure it or book a test drive. Click-based attribution makes the gap worse: it credits the last digital touchpoint and undervalues the brand and model advertising that creates future demand. ## How Auto Match works Auto Match is ITV’s addressable automotive advertising solution, created with Carwow. Sophus3 is its exclusive insights and measurement partner. It brings together three sources: - **Carwow**: a unique audience of people actively shopping for a car. - **ITVX**: registered streaming users who can be reached with addressable advertising. - **Sophus3**: behaviour on car brand websites, from visits to model research, using the matching methodology behind eDataXchange benchmarking, which Sophus3 has run since 2003. In-market buyers are associated with registered ITVX users through privacy-safe matching. Campaigns then reach viewers who are already in the market, and Sophus3 measures what they do next. ![Diagram: Carwow in-market car buyers and Sophus3 website analytics feed a privacy-safe match with registered ITVX streaming users, which enables smart targeting on ITVX and measurement of real consumer actions: site visits, model engagement and digital market share](assets/img/insights/auto-match-how-it-works.webp "How Auto Match connects streamed TV advertising with what car buyers do next. Source: Sophus3, ITV and Carwow.") ## What Sophus3 measures Exposed viewers are compared with a baseline across the actions that move a buyer closer to purchase: - Visits to the advertiser’s website and to Carwow. - Engagement with the advertised model, including configurations. - Test drive enquiries and other mid-funnel actions. - How many competitor brands exposed Carwow users go on to consider. - The brand’s digital market share: its share of visits within the competitor set. ## Launch results, October 2025 The first published comparison with a standard ITVX campaign showed: - **129% more visits** across the car brand site and Carwow. - **133% greater effectiveness** at moving viewers to mid-funnel actions. - **27% fewer competitor brands** considered by exposed Carwow users. Early users named at launch included Range Rover, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi, Suzuki and Polestar. ## Twelve months on: more than ten manufacturers By October 2026, more than ten manufacturers, established and challenger brands, had run Auto Match campaigns, and several had booked repeat campaigns. Compared with the average visitor, Auto Match viewers were: - **181% more likely** to visit the advertiser’s site. - **50% more likely** to engage with the advertised model. - Associated with an **18% uplift in digital market share**. ![Bar chart: compared with an average visitor indexed at 100, Auto Match viewers are 181% more likely to visit the advertiser’s site and 50% more likely to engage with the advertised model; Auto Match campaigns are associated with an 18% uplift in digital market share](assets/img/insights/auto-match-viewers-vs-average-visitor.webp "Auto Match viewers compared with the average visitor. Source: Sophus3 Auto Match campaign analysis, October 2026.") > “Auto Match is succeeding because it gives car brands a deep-dive into the effect of streamed TV advertising on buyers. Our unbeatable combination of Carwow data, ITV smart targeting and Sophus3 attribution gives auto advertisers an unprecedented level of transparency.” Steve Machin, Sophus3 The research behind Auto Match was shortlisted for Best Research / Insight Project at the AOP Digital Publishing Awards 2026. ## What advertisers do with the results - Judge audience quality as well as reach: did the campaign find people who then researched the car? - Discuss TV with finance and sales teams in terms of buyer actions, not delivery totals. - Plan the next flight with evidence on which actions moved and which did not. ## How to read the numbers These are campaign comparisons of measured behaviour, not vehicle sales or guaranteed outcomes. The 2025 figures compare exposed viewers with a standard ITVX campaign; the 2026 figures compare them with the average visitor across more than 12 months of campaigns. The baselines differ, so the two sets should not be combined or compared directly. Campaign-specific baselines, sample sizes and observation windows should be agreed before a comparable study. ## Plan a comparable study Agree the exposed audience, the comparison group, the observation window and the automotive actions that matter to your brand before the campaign starts. [Talk to Sophus3 about attribution](/contact?topic=attribution) or explore the [attribution presentation](/attribution-project). Sources: ITV press release and Sophus3 announcement, October 2025; Sophus3 Auto Match campaign analysis, October 2026; AOP Digital Publishing Awards 2026 shortlist. ### Sophus3 partners with ITV and Carwow to reveal true effect of TV ads - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-partners-with-itv-and-carwow-to-reveal-true-effect-of-tv-ads/ - Published: 2025-10-14 - Category: Attribution - Author: Patrick Fuller - Summary: Auto Match connects ITVX ad exposure with subsequent behaviour on client websites and Carwow, providing independent evidence of marketing impact. Sophus3 is the exclusive insights and measurement partner for Auto Match, ITV’s addressable automotive advertising solution created with Carwow. The service connects known ITVX Auto Match exposure with subsequent behaviour on automotive brand websites and Carwow. Sophus3 analyses actions including visits, configurations and test-drive enquiries to help advertisers understand the effect of TV activity beyond conventional delivery metrics. ## Initial published results - 129% more visits across the car brand site and Carwow. - 133% greater effectiveness at moving exposed viewers towards active mid-funnel actions. - 27% reduction in the number of competitor brands considered by exposed Carwow users. Publicly named early users included Range Rover, Mercedes, Volkswagen, Audi, Suzuki and Polestar. The work demonstrates how independent automotive measurement can connect media exposure with real buyer behaviour and help clients make better investment decisions. ### EV Index 2025 Q2: time to address the second-hand market - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-index-2025-q2-time-to-address-the-second-hand-market/ - Published: 2025-07-25 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: The Sophus3 EV Index improved in most tracked markets, but the used-EV market emerged as a major constraint on wider adoption. ## Progress across the tracked markets The Q2 2025 Sophus3 EV Index recorded modest improvements in seven of the eight markets tracked, with Italy remaining flat. The UK and Germany showed some of the strongest progress among the large European markets, while the Nordic markets continued to lead. ## The second-hand market holds adoption back Despite those improvements, market outcomes remained weaker than the transition requires. Sophus3 highlighted the second-hand market as an increasingly important problem: used EVs can remain more expensive than comparable combustion-engine vehicles, while buyers no longer benefit from many of the incentives available to new-car purchasers. At the end of the first half of 2025, European BEV registrations were up 25% year on year and passed one million units for the first time in a half-year period, but the share of new registrations was still only 17.5%. The index measures consumer interest, affordability and choice, and charging infrastructure. ### Good measurement is key to understanding AI - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/simple-ways-to-measure-ai/ - Published: 2025-06-17 - Category: AI & Search - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: AI-assisted search is changing automotive discovery, making rigorous measurement essential before brands decide how to respond. AI-assisted search is changing the way consumers discover and compare automotive brands. Sophus3’s view is that the first step for a brand is not to chase every new optimisation technique, but to establish a measurement framework that shows where AI genuinely changes visibility and customer behaviour. That means tracking relevant automotive questions consistently, comparing competitors, separating market-level effects from brand-specific effects and avoiding conclusions based on a handful of prompts. ## A practical measurement approach - Define the topics and questions that matter commercially. - Benchmark visibility against relevant automotive competitors. - Track results over time and by market. - Connect AI visibility with other demand and website signals wherever possible. Sophus3 treats AI visibility as another part of the automotive decision journey, not as an isolated SEO score. ### EV Index 2025 Q1: Europe’s EV acceleration - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-index-2025-q1-europes-ev-acceleration/ - Published: 2025-04-28 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: The Q1 2025 EV Index found signs of improving affordability and choice, while significant differences in consumer interest remained across Europe. The Q1 2025 Sophus3 EV Index found that most tracked markets improved, with Germany posting the largest positive movement among the major European markets. Sophus3 also added Denmark to the index, reflecting the rapid growth of electric vehicle sales there. One of the most encouraging changes was in affordability and choice. A growing number of smaller and lower-priced EVs were beginning to reduce the historical price gap with combustion-engine alternatives. Consumer interest nevertheless continued to vary substantially by region. Northern European markets remained far more predisposed towards EV purchase than Italy and Spain. ## How the index works The EV Index combines three pillars: consumer appetite to buy electric, the market’s ability to supply attractive and affordable vehicles, and access to charging infrastructure. A score of 100 represents broad parity between electric and conventionally fuelled vehicles. ### Carwow and Sophus3: a wider view of the buying journey - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/carwow-sophus3-collaboration/ - Published: 2025-04-02 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: A research partnership connects insight across Carwow, Auto Express, Driving Electric and Evo. ## The question How do people move through automotive content before deciding what to buy? ## The research Sophus3’s 2025 partnership with Carwow Group set out to examine millions of digital interactions across its brands, including Carwow, Auto Express, Driving Electric and Evo. The work builds on earlier publisher research and eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking’s automotive benchmarking expertise. ## Why the wider view matters A single website only sees part of a person’s research. Looking across related publishing environments can help identify where content, advertising and commercial partnerships influence the journey. This is the original project announcement, not a claim that every planned result has been published. It describes the intended scope: understanding engagement, customer experience and the path towards conversion. Adapted from the original Sophus3 publication. Market findings relate to the date shown. ### Driving decisions: how car buyers use reviews to make their choice - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/driving-decisions-how-car-buyers-use-reviews-to-make-their-choice/ - Published: 2025-03-19 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Research with Haymarket, Autovia and Bauer analysed millions of interactions to understand how automotive media influences the purchase journey. Sophus3 research commissioned by Haymarket Media Group, Autovia and Bauer Media Group analysed millions of consumer interactions to understand the role of automotive media in the purchase journey. The studies found that publisher sites play a major role early in consideration. In the UK their combined monthly traffic exceeds that of automotive brand websites, and visitors tend to spend longer and consume more content. ## Key findings - Publisher sites drive early engagement before buyers reach brand websites. - Exposure to automotive media can expand the number of brands considered. - 70% of in-journey visitors are influenced by publisher sites and may return after visiting an OEM site to validate their decision. - EV versus combustion-engine choice tends to happen early in consideration. Sophus3 recommended that brands use publisher partnerships to capture earlier interest, retarget engaged audiences and strengthen their EV proposition before shoppers arrive at the final transaction stage. ### Is there an ‘Elon effect’ on car shoppers? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/is-there-an-elon-effect-on-car-shoppers/ - Published: 2025-02-21 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: A historical analysis separates attention around Tesla’s CEO from the brand’s longer-term sales trajectory. ## Attention and demand are different Our February 2025 analysis found a mixed picture. News surrounding Elon Musk’s political activity coincided with greater search curiosity and traffic to Tesla’s European websites. Sales share, however, was declining. Sophus3 noted that this decline had begun earlier, with competition in electric vehicles and the erosion of Tesla’s first-mover advantage providing important context. ## Avoid a simple causal story More attention does not necessarily mean more purchase intent. Equally, a sales decline during a news cycle does not establish that the news caused it. This archive article records the evidence and interpretation available in February 2025. It does not assess later political events or Tesla’s present market position. Adapted from the original Sophus3 publication. Market findings relate to the date shown. ### What are the game-changers in automotive digital 2025? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/vehicle-stock-locators-gain-traction-in-a-difficult-push-market/ - Published: 2025-02-21 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 data showed a sharp rise in the use of vehicle stock locators as brands adapted to a market where supply again exceeded demand. ## Stock locators gain ground Sophus3’s 2025 automotive digital trends work highlighted the growing importance of vehicle stock locators. Traffic to dedicated ecommerce purchase pages remained small, but stock-finder usage had increased markedly as manufacturers returned to a more supply-led market. Sophus3 recorded a tripling in visits to stock-finder pages over the previous 24 months. More brands had added or improved this functionality and increasingly used stock pages as destinations for online marketing. The analysis also showed significant differences in execution. Volkswagen was highlighted for both the capability of its stock locator and the way it was integrated into the customer journey. ## The wider digital picture The broader webinar covered changes in online buyer behaviour, audience quality, EV demand, Chinese brands, mobility services and customer consent. The common theme was that ecommerce tools create value when they are well integrated into the wider digital journey rather than treated as isolated functionality. ### Five new participants join eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/new-participants-join-edataxchange/ - Published: 2025-02-04 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: BYD UK, GWM, XPENG UK, Subaru UK and Isuzu UK joined eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking in this 2025 update. ## A broader automotive comparison Sophus3 welcomed BYD UK, Great Wall Motor, XPENG UK, Subaru UK and Isuzu UK to eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking in February 2025. The programme allows participating brands to share anonymised online data and compare their digital performance with competitors. Its purpose is to understand customer behaviour with more context than any one brand’s reporting can provide. ## What participation is for The benchmark helps teams interpret their market position and ask whether changes reflect their own performance or a wider shift in demand. This article records the participants announced at the time. It is not a current inventory of every member, market or contractual relationship. Adapted from the original Sophus3 publication. Market findings relate to the date shown. ### EV Index Q4 2024: a more positive finish - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-index-2024-q4-positive-indicators-for-the-year-ahead/ - Published: 2025-01-28 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: All five major European markets improved their overall readiness scores, although important differences remained. ## The quarterly picture The final quarter of 2024 brought improvements across the European Big 5 in the Sophus3 EV Index. The UK finished at 47, Germany and France at 45, Spain at 30 and Italy at 25. The Netherlands reached 76, while Norway remained above the parity threshold. ## Read beyond the headline The index separates consumer interest, affordability and choice, and charging infrastructure. Progress in one dimension does not mean the other barriers have disappeared. The UK’s end-of-year momentum came alongside strong manufacturer incentives. France had substantial charging provision but more limited movement in adoption, illustrating why infrastructure alone is not the answer. This is historical research for Q4 2024. Policy expectations and model-launch forecasts in the original report should be read in their original time context, not as current guidance. Adapted from the original Sophus3 publication. Market findings relate to the date shown. ### Measuring the impact of Jaguar’s rebrand - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/measuring-the-impact-of-jaguars-rebrand/ - Published: 2024-12-18 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 website-audience data showed a large spike in interest after Jaguar unveiled its new identity and Type 00 concept. Jaguar’s 2024 rebrand generated substantial debate, but Sophus3 used online audience data to look at the measurable effect on interest in the brand. ## What the audience data showed Traffic to Jaguar’s UK website increased five-fold in the week of the “Copy Nothing” campaign. Interest rose again after the Type 00 concept was revealed during Miami Art Week. On the following day Jaguar accounted for 12.7% of the UK website audience across all automotive brands, close to the combined audience of Audi, BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz. The initial spike did not disappear immediately. Visitor numbers remained at more than twice their pre-rebrand level during the following week. ## Why market-level data matters The analysis illustrates the value of market-level behavioural data: it cannot by itself determine long-term commercial success, but it gives brands an objective view of how major product and communications events change consumer attention. ### EV Index Q3 2024: waiting for affordable electric cars - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-index-2024-q3-the-wait-for-affordable-evs-continues/ - Published: 2024-10-23 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: The third quarter showed how uneven consumer interest could hold back progress despite improvements elsewhere. ## Readiness remained uneven The Q3 2024 EV Index recorded scores of 45 for the UK, 42 for France, 41 for Germany, 27 for Spain and 24 for Italy. Italy fell by three points, while the UK gained three. Norway and the Netherlands remained ahead of the major markets in the transition. ## Affordability was central The report argued that improvements in the relative pricing of premium vehicles were not enough to bring electric motoring within reach of mainstream buyers. Short-lived incentives also complicated comparisons: changes could pull purchases into one period and leave the next looking weaker. The lesson is to examine the period, baseline and market conditions behind each movement. These findings describe Q3 2024, rather than current prices or policy. Adapted from the original Sophus3 publication. Market findings relate to the date shown. ### Sophus3 at the Paris Motor Show 2024 - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-at-the-paris-motor-show-2024/ - Published: 2024-10-15 - Updated: 2024-10-15 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Join Sophus3’s insight team at the 2024 edition of the Mondial de l’Auto – Paris for a tour of the latest products and innovations For more digital auto customer… [Watch the recording](https://www.youtube.com/embed/y1YBMIAMgno?si=b6KTdKMiekDu-p-Z) ### Join Sophus3’s insight team at the 2024 edition of the Mondial de l’Auto , Paris for a tour of the latest products and innovations For more digital auto customer insights, please contact [patrick.fuller@sophus3.com](mailto:patrick.fuller@sophus3.com). ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2024-10-15. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Getting automotive ecommerce right with Rockar’s Martin Sewell - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-interview-with-rockars-martin-sewell/ - Published: 2024-09-17 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Why a smooth checkout is only one part of a successful car-buying experience. ## Three kinds of readiness In his interview with Sophus3’s Patrick Fuller, Rockar Tech’s Martin Sewell examined technology readiness, manufacturer readiness and dealer readiness. Successful direct-to-customer retail depends on all three. ## Connect online and showroom experiences Customer accounts and shared information can help retailers understand someone’s preferences and progress. A journey that works at home but starts again from scratch in the showroom misses that opportunity. ## Convenience is not the whole experience A faster transaction helps people who already know what they want. Earlier in the journey, customers still need confidence, personal relevance and reasons to choose a brand. The discussion challenges teams to treat digital as part of the retail experience rather than as a separate channel. [Watch the full interview on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pvLIPLFc1SU) for the complete conversation and examples. Adapted from the original Sophus3 publication. Market findings relate to the date shown. ### EV Index 2024 Q2: approaching a crisis point - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-index-2024-q2-approaching-a-crisis-point/ - Published: 2024-07-25 - Updated: 2024-07-25 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Overview After a dismal start to 2024—with the measurement of EV readiness falling dramatically in the big 5 markets during the first quarter—there were signs of… ## Overview After a dismal start to 2024, with the measurement of EV readiness falling dramatically in the big 5 markets during the first quarter, there were signs of recovery during Q2 in all of those markets with the exception of France. However, in the vehicle market-place  sales have slowed, and the share of electric cars during the first six months of the year has lagged noticeably behind the levels achieved in 2023. Consumer interest remains worryingly low, and it is this factor that is currently most suppressing demand for EVs. Digital interest, as measured by traffic to EV model pages on car brand websites, actually fell in all of the markets that we monitor apart from in the UK and Norway. ### EV Index 2024 Q2 ### Figures in brackets show change from 2024 Q1 ### Published figures - **Germany**: EV Index: 41 (2); Consumer Interest: 25 (0); Affordability & Choice: 58 (9); Infrastructure: 63 (5) - **Spain**: EV Index: 27 (2); Consumer Interest: 14 (0); Affordability & Choice: 49 (11); Infrastructure: 57 (-1) - **France**: EV Index: 42 (-1); Consumer Interest: 24 (-4); Affordability & Choice: 55 (10); Infrastructure: 86 (2) - **Italy**: EV Index: 26 (1); Consumer Interest: 14 (0); Affordability & Choice: 44 (7); Infrastructure: 55 (1) - **UK**: EV Index: 42 (3); Consumer Interest: 29 (1); Affordability & Choice: 55 (12); Infrastructure: 55 (-3) - **Netherlands**: EV Index: 68 (7); Consumer Interest: 45 (3); Affordability & Choice: 57 (8); Infrastructure: 218 (13) - **Norway**: EV Index: 121 (, ); Consumer Interest: 326 (, ); Affordability & Choice: 93 (, ); Infrastructure: 91 (, ) (The Netherlands and Norway provide benchmarks for comparison as ‘best in class’ performers in their efforts to encourage EV adoption.) ### Affordability Unusually the biggest area of improvement  in the three ‘pillars’  from which the overall index is calculated, was in the pricing/affordability of EVs relative to their fossil-fuelled equivalents. It is important to understand that this shift is not due to the sudden appearance of a rash of budget-priced offerings in the new vehicle market. Rather, it is the result of some changes in the sales ranking of the models that we track so that some of the more expensive EVs, for example the BMW iX and Jaguar I-Pace, have been dropped from the calculations. In addition, as the market has slowed, manufacturers have looked at increasing their discounts on different models. Again, the shifts are not that dramatic. Whilst there is some variation between local markets and different brands, across all of the markets that we track, EV prices have fallen by an average of only 1%, whilst ICE prices have increased by barely 3%. ### Tariffs on Chinese EVs Particularly in the near term, hopes of a significant reduction in the premium that an electric car buyer is forced to pay look to be receding. At the beginning of July the European Commission imposed provisional tariffs that could be as high as 48% on imported Chinese EVs having ruled that the Chinese government’s subsidy of its home industry was damaging to EU’s carmakers. From a consumer’s point of view this effectively delays the availability of affordable EV options and therefore the main result will be to slow the transition to zero emission vehicles. How effective these measures will be in achieving the objective of protecting the region’s car industry is also debatable. Many commentators think it unlikely that they will blunt the Chinese OEMs’ charge into Europe and that instead a tit-for-tat response from the government in Beijing will cause more serious damage to the European brands that are heavily reliant on the Chinese market. The view is that manufacturing groups like BYD and SAIC enjoy sufficient margin to be able to absorb these tariffs, whilst many brands, including BYD, MG, Chery and most recently Zeekr, are planning to open manufacturing facilities within Europe which would exempt them from these measures in the not too distant future. Norway and the UK are pursuing a different path from the European Union in refusing, for the present, to implement tariffs against the Chinese brands so it will be interesting to see how pricing, and EV uptake, evolves in those markets over the coming months. BYD is one of a number of Chinese brands planning to build cars in Europe, in its case at Szeged, Hungary. ### Infrastructure The index shows that public charging facilities continue to keep pace with the expansion of the electric fleet and are not the impediment to EV acquisition that many insist. Whilst there would clearly be bottlenecks and frustrations for EV drivers if adoption of the powertrain were to suddenly accelerate, the present rate of public charger provision is adequate in the majority of markets. The UK for example is [reported](https://www.theguardian.com/business/article/2024/jul/15/electric-vehicle-ev-chargers-uk-installations) to be adding a public charge point to the network every 25 minutes; in Germany, the most recent emphasis is on the roll out of a rapid charger network to support [heavy duty trucks](https://evmagazine.com/articles/germany-builds-nationwide-fast-charging-network-for-evs), with 350 locations earmarked for development from the end of the summer. ### Political shifts The recent period has been marked by a number of changes in the  political landscape in Europe which have raised uncertainties about regional and national policies encouraging the transition to EVs and broader carbon reduction measures. The European elections produced a shift to the right which threatened the bloc’s future commitment to the 2035 timetable for the phase out of ICE vehicles. The re-appointment of Ursula von der Leyen as European Commission President ensures that, for the moment, a consensus supporting this policy remains in place despite a growing number of dissenting voices. The recent UK election, that saw a Labour landslide, seems unlikely to produce any immediate rollback in EV policy. The French elections resulted in advances by both a left coalition and the far right creating a stalemate that threatens progress on sustainability issues. In Italy the nationalist government, despite introducing a subsidy scheme to encourage purchase of greener cars, continues to argue against the timetable for the transition to EVs. It has also been at odds with Stellantis over its embrace of electrification and the group’s choice of manufacturing sites. ### Summary: slow progress to a point of crisis The European Union and U.K. share the objective of ending sales of fossil-fuelled cars by 2035. Stepped targets are in place with manufacturers facing large penalties if they fail to meet them. In the UK, EVs must make up 22% of overall sales this year, increasing to 25% next year. (Within the European Union the steps are similar but defined by the carbon dioxide emissions of the vehicle fleet.) European [sales figures](https://www.acea.auto/pc-registrations/new-car-registrations-4-3-in-june-2024-battery-electric-14-4-market-share/) for EVs in the first half of the year show that progress has been extremely modest with just a 1.3% increase over the same period last year. Electric cars currently account for only 12.5% of the EU new car market, a lower share than the 14.4% achieved at the end of 2024, although the UK is further forward with EVs enjoying 16.6% market share year-to-date. But the trajectory in both markets suggests that those targets are going to be missed by a wide margin. A crisis point has been reached which can no longer be ignored and it seems inevitable that tensions between car makers and governments will come to a head in the near future. ## About the EV Index The EV Index from Sophus3 provides an objective measure of the readiness of the vehicle market to enable and encourage the mainstream adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). The index is formed from three pillars, each measuring distinct factors that help or hinder electric vehicle acquisition. First of these is the consumer appetite to buy electric, the second is the capability of the automotive companies to supply these cars, and the third is the availability of suitable charging infrastructure. A score of 100 represents parity in the attractiveness, availability, pricing and usability of an electric car compared with a conventionally fuelled vehicle. We publish the EV Index for the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, and Norway. A fuller explanation of the EV Index from Sophus3 , and links to previous issues, can be found [here](/ev_index/) ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2024-07-25. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Video: Chinese brands expand their digital footprint in Europe - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-chinese-brands-expand-their-digital-footprint-in-europe/ - Published: 2024-07-02 - Category: Challenger Brands - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sam Robson, Digital Analyst at Sophus3, discusses the mixed fortunes of Chinese car brands entering Europe and how quickly their digital presence has grown. ## Watch the video Sam Robson, Digital Analyst at Sophus3, discusses the mixed fortunes of Chinese car brands entering the European market and how their digital presence has grown rapidly in recent months. [Watch the video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lGn6yw7UZqU). ## Digital market share approaching 3% “As the dust settles on this year’s Beijing Motor Show, which put the Geneva Motor Show in February to shame with its packed halls, Sophus3 will soon be embarking on its third annual analysis of Chinese manufacturers in Europe. The Sophus3 eDataXchange partnership with more than 20 leading car brands has told the incredible story of growth in digital market share for the Chinese car industry, now touching 3% of all brands combined. If you add Volvo, that number more than doubles, something that would have seemed impossible a few years ago.” ![Area chart of Chinese brands’ digital market share in Europe, January 2023 to March 2024, rising towards 3%, and above 5% including Volvo](assets/img/optimized-v42/chinese-brands-2024-digital-market-share.webp "Chinese brands’ digital market share, January 2023 to March 2024, with and without Volvo. Source: Sophus3 eDataXchange.") ## Failures, newcomers and a price advantage “Some Chinese brands, notably HiPhi, have already failed in Europe, but new ones will soon take their place. For example, Chinese smartphone maker Xiaomi, whose first car sold out in under 24 hours in China, just a few weeks after we heard that the all-conquering Western smartphone brand Apple had cancelled its long-running auto programme, ‘Project Titan’. The price advantage enjoyed by Chinese EVs is significant, with a typical model 20% cheaper than its equivalent from European brands. And this is likely to drive even fiercer competition in the future. The average retail price of an EV in Europe was more than €65,000 in the first half of 2023, compared with just over €31,000 in China, according to research by Jato Dynamics. No wonder then that money is being thrown at incentives to encourage more EV sales by traditional brands, as illustrated by this piece of analysis by UK retail specialist ASI, which clearly shows how EVs have received the most support of any fuel type since the end of 2022.” ![Line chart of tactical support by fuel type, Q1 2020 to Q1 2024, with electric rising to about 11% by Q1 2024](assets/img/optimized-v42/chinese-brands-2024-ev-tactical-support.webp "Tactical support by fuel type, Q1 2020 to Q1 2024. Data supplied by ASI (Automotive Services International).") ## The online landscape for Chinese brands “Anyone hoping that the European Commission will increase import tariffs when it concludes its investigation in the autumn is likely to be disappointed, such is the price advantage of Chinese brands. Soon, several of them may be manufacturing in Europe too, from BYD in Hungary to Chery in Barcelona, and Leapmotor in Poland. So what is the current online landscape for Chinese brands? Our research has identified 17 active brands across 13 European markets, led by Sweden, with no fewer than 11. Not all EU5 markets are seeing sustained growth in Chinese brand market share, with the UK seeing a 10% increase in our latest quarterly report, compared with a 2% decline for Germany.” ![Slide showing Chinese brands growing strongly in Europe: 86 in 2023 and 110 in 2024, up 28%](assets/img/optimized-v42/chinese-brands-2024-growing-in-europe.webp "Chinese brands growing strongly in Europe: 86 in 2023, 110 in 2024 (+28%).") Questions or comments? [Contact Sophus3](/contact). Transcript of the Sophus3 video published on 2 July 2024. Figures relate to that period. ### The transactional user journey: help car buyers make progress - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-the-transactional-user-journey/ - Published: 2024-06-19 - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Explore Sophus3’s research on designing automotive journeys around what customers need to accomplish. ## Reward the buyer’s attention Patrick Fuller describes a transactional approach to automotive customer experience: each interaction should give the buyer something useful in return. That might be clearer availability, a specific offer, or information that helps them make a decision. ## Make progress visible The research challenges journeys built mainly around the brand’s internal funnel. A customer who has spent time finding a stock locator should reach relevant vehicles and useful details, rather than another generic screen. ## Real vehicles, specific offers Sophus3’s examples favour photographs of actual available cars over generic, recoloured vehicle images. Clear stock labels and specific offers help buyers understand what they can get and what to do next. ## Apply the principle - Review recent website changes from the buyer’s perspective. - Ask what each step gives back for the customer’s time. - Examine qualitative experience alongside behavioural measurement. This is a summary of the historical research video. [Watch the video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gdBS8ruW3Z4) for further examples and its reported conversion comparisons. Summary of the original Sophus3 publication; original publication date retained. ### Using data to develop automotive digital strategies - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-using-data-to-develop-auto-digital-strategies/ - Published: 2024-06-07 - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 examines how evidence about buyer behaviour can guide automotive digital strategy. ## More visitors do not always mean better engagement Scott Gairns examines a period when automotive website audiences were recovering while engagement measures were weakening. The research uses Sophus3’s eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking to look beyond headline traffic growth. ## Design around mobile behaviour The presentation reports growing smartphone use across European automotive markets. Smaller screens and shorter sessions make it important to understand which tasks people can complete, rather than relying on page views alone. ## Compare traffic quality The analysis also challenges assumptions about channel quality. Teams should compare what audiences do after arrival and revisit those comparisons as the marketing mix changes. ## Use evidence across teams Transparent pricing, better customer journeys and shared measurement can support digital progress even when a brand’s retail model changes. Benchmarks help teams identify where a deeper investigation is worthwhile. [Watch the video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3YNvO02HvCs); it describes its historical research period. Its audience and engagement statistics should not be presented as current market benchmarks. Summary of the original Sophus3 publication; original publication date retained. ### The data ‘black hole’ frustrating car brands’ digital teams - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/the-data-black-hole-frustrating-car-brands-digital-teams/ - Published: 2024-06-04 - Category: Analytics - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 analysis found that stricter consent implementations could make up to 40% of automotive website traffic disappear from conventional tracking, undermining campaign and journey measurement. Stricter customer-consent implementations have progressively reduced the traffic visible to conventional automotive web analytics. Sophus3 analysis found that car brands could be missing up to 40% of online traffic, creating data gaps that make it harder to understand customer journeys and marketing effectiveness. In the published analysis, less than half of website visitors were consenting to tracking. A comparison across a group of mainstream automotive brands in the five largest European markets showed roughly 40% of traffic disappearing from conventional measurement after GDPR-compliant consent dialogues were introduced. ## The measurement challenge - Incomplete tracking makes campaign and journey comparisons less reliable. - Absolute website metrics can change because of measurement loss, not only because demand changed. - Sophus3 has explored consent-free analytics approaches that avoid cookies, digital fingerprints and personal data. - Consented and consent-free traffic can be modelled together to produce a more complete view of site activity. For automotive teams, the wider point is that measurement architecture needs to be treated as part of the commercial decision system, not as a technical afterthought. ### Roadblocks to EV adoption: beyond consumer interest - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-roadblocks-to-ev-adoption/ - Published: 2024-05-23 - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: A Sophus3 research video explores the barriers between interest in electric vehicles and adoption. ## Interest is only one part of readiness Patrick Fuller explains how Sophus3 combines consumer interest, affordability and choice, and infrastructure in the EV Index. The framework asks how practical an electric vehicle is to choose, buy and run compared with a conventionally powered alternative. ## When incentives change The 2024 analysis discusses the decline in German consumer interest following the withdrawal of purchase subsidies. It shows why changes in policy need to be considered alongside digital demand signals. ## The affordability gap The presentation identifies relative pricing as a continuing obstacle. Consumers considering new powertrains still need a vehicle that performs the job they require at a price they can afford. ## Use the historical comparison carefully This video covers early 2024, not today’s market. Read it alongside the newer EV Index editions to see how interest, pricing and infrastructure have evolved. [Watch the video on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5lL8czQrcIY) for the period-specific figures and commentary. Summary of the original Sophus3 publication; original publication date retained. ### EV Index 2024 Q1: sharp reversals in EV readiness - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-index-2024-q1-sharp-reversals-in-ev-readiness/ - Published: 2024-04-23 - Updated: 2024-04-23 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Overview The first quarter of 2024 saw the largest decline in the measurement of EV readiness in the Big 5 European markets recorded since Sophus3 commenced publication… ## Overview The first quarter of 2024 saw the largest decline in the measurement of EV readiness in the Big 5 European markets recorded since Sophus3 commenced publication of the EV Index at the beginning of 2020. Germany experienced the biggest reversal, with consumer interest plummeting, but the picture was the same for the other markets although the swings were not quite as extreme. ### EV Index 2024 Q1 ### Figures in brackets show change from 2023 Q4 ### Published figures - **Germany**: EV Index: 39 (-8); Consumer Interest: 25 (-11); Affordability & Choice: 49 (-5); Infrastructure: 58 (-1) - **Spain**: EV Index: 25 (-5); Consumer Interest: 13 (-5); Affordability & Choice: 38 (1); Infrastructure: 58 (-1) - **France**: EV Index: 43 (-4); Consumer Interest: 28 (-6); Affordability & Choice: 44 (0); Infrastructure: 85 (1) - **Italy**: EV Index: 25 (-7); Consumer Interest: 14 (-6); Affordability & Choice: 36 (-2); Infrastructure: 54 (0) - **UK**: EV Index: 39 (-4); Consumer Interest: 28 (-4); Affordability & Choice: 43 (-2); Infrastructure: 58 (-3) - **Netherlands**: EV Index: 61 (0); Consumer Interest: 42 (-3); Affordability & Choice: 49 (4); Infrastructure: 204 (4) - **Norway**: EV Index: 158 (17); Consumer Interest: 480 (192); Affordability & Choice: 168 (26); Infrastructure: 91 (0) (The Netherlands and Norway continue to provide benchmarks for comparison as they separately pursue more coercive strategies for the transition to e-mobility.) ### EV demand stalls The sudden removal of government subsidies for EV buyers in Germany at the end of last year no doubt partially explains the fall in online interest and demand in the vehicle market place. With EV sales for March much improved over January, this may be a hangover that is wearing off. In Italy, buyers are awaiting a policy announcement on EV support from their government, expectation of which is most likely suppressing current EV sales. But, the [ACEA registrations data](https://www.acea.auto/pc-registrations/new-car-registrations-5-2-in-march-2024-battery-electric-13-market-share/) for the first quarter shows that these negative trends are not isolated to those two markets; the market share of BEVs sold during Q1 across the whole of Europe was just 13.2% compared to their share of sales in 2023 of 15.4%. However, consumers are not simply backtracking to petrol and diesel cars, both of which saw their market share shrink further during the first quarter. The growth area of the passenger car market so far this year has been conventional hybrids whose European volumes are up by nearly 20% year-to-date. ### Pricing hurdle The high price of EVs continues to be the major barrier to adoption, and we can see in the affordability column of the table above that the relative pricing of EVs compared to their fossil-fueled alternatives actually worsened in Germany, Italy and the UK during the period under review. Whilst some commentators have interpreted the latest sales trend as evidence of ‘faltering interest in EVs’, the rocketing European sales recorded by MG’s parent company, SAIC (+45% year-to-date), suggests that this is a simplification and that there remain plenty of buyers for competitively priced EVs. MG4 defying the simplification that consumer interest in EVs is waning. ### Importance of charging infrastructure overstated? The EV Index continues to show that the provision of public charging infrastructure is not the ‘deal breaker’ that it is suggested to be in many quarters. In all of the markets we analyse, infrastructure, at this point in time, is the strongest of the three pillars from which we calculate the overall EV Index score. The progress of France has been particularly impressive given the challenges its geographic size presents. This viewpoint is supported by [recently published analysis](https://www.transportenvironment.org/discover/most-eu-countries-on-track-to-meet-charging-targets/) from the Transport and Environment group which showed that the number of public charge points in the EU has tripled in the last three years, and that, last year, the network expanded faster than the electric vehicle fleet it serves. This  said, it is important not to be complacent. If the targets of the various ZEV mandates in place are to be met, then the current growth of the public charger network will need to be maintained. The EV Index from Sophus3 provides an objective measure of the readiness of the vehicle market to enable and encourage the mainstream adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). The index is formed from three pillars, each measuring distinct factors that help or hinder electric vehicle acquisition. First of these is the consumer appetite to buy electric, the second is the capability of the automotive companies to supply these cars, and the third is the availability of suitable charging infrastructure. A score of 100 represents parity in the attractiveness, availability, pricing and usability of an electric car compared with a conventionally fuelled vehicle. We publish the EV Index for the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, and Norway. A fuller explanation of the EV Index from Sophus3 , and links to previous issues, can be found [here](/ev_index/) ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2024-04-23. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Chinese brands compete on more than price - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/chinese-cars-dominate-latest-safety-ratings/ - Published: 2024-04-03 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3’s 2024 review of safety rankings challenged outdated assumptions about challenger brands. ## A changing competitive picture In April 2024, Sophus3 highlighted that six of the ten cars in the safety ranking it reviewed came from Chinese manufacturers. The article placed this alongside stricter Euro NCAP testing, including greater emphasis on driver-assistance technology. New-model timing matters: a ranking of recently tested vehicles is not a comparison of every car on sale. ## What it means for established brands The broader point was about competitive positioning. Challenger brands were developing capabilities that extended beyond a lower price, and established manufacturers needed to examine product strengths as well as market share. This is a historical research note, not a current safety recommendation or a guarantee about any individual vehicle. The original article links the finding to Sophus3’s wider research on Chinese brands in Europe. Adapted from the original Sophus3 publication. Market findings relate to the date shown. ### Automotive digital in 2024: the engagement challenge - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/trends-to-watch-in-2024/ - Published: 2024-03-26 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Our webinar examined engagement, ecommerce readiness and the growing digital presence of Chinese brands. ## Look outside the automotive bubble Sophus3 compared automotive experiences with 35 non-automotive brands. Familiar, frequently used ecommerce services were shaping customer expectations, even when the eventual purchase was a car. ## Market readiness has several dimensions Research across more than 600 websites in 24 markets separated market health, customer readiness and the capabilities provided by brands. A willing customer cannot complete a journey that the available tools do not support. ## Practical questions for digital teams - Does the website respond to a customer as well as a showroom would? - Are basic purchase tools available and easy to use? - Are weak results caused by the experience, market conditions or a combination? The original webinar also explored EV demand and Chinese brands. This summary preserves the 2024 context; it is not a current ranking of markets or websites. Adapted from the original Sophus3 publication. Market findings relate to the date shown. ### The Long March: Chinese car brands in Europe - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/the-long-march-chinese-car-brands-in-europe/ - Published: 2024-02-07 - Category: Challenger Brands - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 tracked the rapidly expanding European footprint of Chinese automotive brands, their digital capabilities and their early audience share. Sophus3’s updated review of Chinese automotive brands in Europe examined both market-entry strategy and the development of their digital footprint. The research identified more than forty-five active or potential entrants and analysed websites for 17 brands across 13 European markets. The study found a gradual market-entry pattern, with many brands using smaller or EV-friendly markets as launch points before scaling. Most relied on conventional dealer networks, although ecommerce was becoming more common. ## Digital findings The research found 86 active sites across the markets reviewed. Polestar had the broadest presence, while Sweden had the highest number of Chinese brand websites. Core site functionality was improving, but there were still gaps in some areas. Chinese brands’ digital audience share was still relatively small in much of Europe, but growth was rapid in several markets. The work reinforced the importance of tracking market-by-market demand rather than treating “Chinese brands” as one homogeneous group. ### EV Index 2023 Q4: interest and sales stall - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/ev-index-2023-q4/ - Published: 2024-02-01 - Updated: 2024-02-07 - Category: EV Index - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Overview At the end of the last quarter we made some changes to the methodology by which we calculate elements of the EV Index. We detail the refinements below which are… ## Overview At the end of the last quarter we made some changes to the methodology by which we calculate elements of the EV Index. We detail the refinements below which are intended to give more accuracy to the measurement of the relative pricing of EVs and to the capability of public charging infrastructure to support the existing EV fleet within each national market. These improvements explain some minor changes within each market during the period in question, particularly in calculating the pricing differentials between EV and ICE vehicles. Having said that, the relative differences between individual markets continues to be explained by two factors. Firstly, variations in and adjustments to the array of national policies designed to support EV adoption. Secondly, the focus that car makers give individual markets based on their assessment, rightly or wrongly, of the commercial return that promoting EVs in each market is likely to produce. The ‘big picture’ in the last quarter of 2023 saw our measurement of EV readiness for the seven European markets that we monitor record little growth. The Big 5 markets, in which 70% of the region’s cars are sold, performed particularly poorly. The Index for Germany and Spain remained entirely static, whilst in the UK and Italy there were improvements of a single point. France scored highest from this group with the index rising by just two points. ### EV Index 2023 Q4 ### Figures in brackets show change from Q3 ### Published figures - **Germany**: EV Index: 47 (0); Consumer Interest: 36 (-3); Affordability & Choice: 53 (8); Infrastructure: 59 (-3) - **Spain**: EV Index: 30 (0); Consumer Interest: 18 (0); Affordability & Choice: 37 (0); Infrastructure: 59 (-1) - **France**: EV Index: 47 (2); Consumer Interest: 34 (2); Affordability & Choice: 44 (2); Infrastructure: 83 (4) - **Italy**: EV Index: 32 (1); Consumer Interest: 20 (1); Affordability & Choice: 38 (-1); Infrastructure: 54 (0) - **UK**: EV Index: 43 (1); Consumer Interest: 32 (-1); Affordability & Choice: 44 (3); Infrastructure: 61 (-2) - **Netherlands**: EV Index: 61 (3); Consumer Interest: 45 (3); Affordability & Choice: 45 (1); Infrastructure: 200 (0) - **Norway**: EV Index: 141 (-4); Consumer Interest: 288 (-64); Affordability & Choice: 143 (2); Infrastructure: 92 (-1) The above is very much a continuation of what we have seen in the previous two quarters. The propensity of the European car market to transition to electric has slowed and is effectively at a near standstill within the Big 5. Spain and Italy remain the laggard markets with chronically low levels of consumer interest in either researching or purchasing an electric car. This general torpor is reflected in the real-world sales data with registrations of battery electric vehicles flat-lining during the last quarter of the year and, in many markets, going into reverse during December. BEV registrations in that month were down -25% in Europe as a whole and down -48% in Germany. In Germany, the largest European market for EVs, this particularly poor performance was the result of the coalition government’s budget crisis which led to the abrupt ending of the environmental bonus ,   a subsidy of €4,500 available to private buyers of electric cars. The withdrawal of the Umweltbonus is thought to have affected nearly 30,000 EV sales according to the [ZDK](https://www.kfzgewerbe.de/foerderstopp-zulassungszahlen-brechen-ein) (Deutsches Kraftfahrzeuggewerbe Zentralverband). Whilst many manufacturers offered to absorb the resulting price increases, the impact on registrations remained severe. ‘EV only’ brands were particularly affected with, for example, registrations of Tesla and Polestar cars both down more than 70% during the month. At year end, EV registrations for the EU, EFTA and the UK as a whole represented a 15.4% share of all cars sold during the year. This was an improvement of just 1.8% compared to 2023. More worryingly, all of the markets of the Big 5, with the exception of France, fell below that already low bar, recording negligible year-on-year growth. (Amongst the markets we monitor Norway remains the outlier and is the only market with an EV Index score over 100. There, government tax and subsidy have made EVs the default consumer choice with manufacturers withdrawing more and more ICE models from sale. Even so, in the last quarter we can see a dip in the index as car purchase dropped sharply in December with EV market share contracting, accompanied by a tailing-off in online interest.) ### EV affordability From Q4 of 2023 we have extended our comparison of the relative pricing of EV and fossil-fuelled cars to look at the top 20 best selling models of both powertrains in each market. (Previously we chose the top 10 models for the whole of Europe and then compared local pricing , which in some markets meant cars with negligible sales were distorting the picture of what drivers were paying for cars of either powertrain.) This change has given more clarity to the market specifics affecting EV adoption. For instance, it shows that Germans spend more on combustion engine cars resulting in a lower ICE to EV differential, whereas the preference for smaller and cheaper cars in Italy, Spain and France means there remains a much higher affordability gap in those markets. ### Charging infrastructure Similarly we have made two changes to how we assess the capability of a market’s EV charging infrastructure. If a market has less than 10 public charge points per BEV (the European Union’s suggested target ratio of chargers to electric vehicles) then its infrastructure score will be downgraded. We also factor in how far a country’s total fleet adoption has progressed. If a market is still in the early stages of electrification with EVs only a small percentage of cars in use, then, again, the infrastructure score will be downgraded to reflect the extent of the growth required to meet the needs of a much expanded electric fleet and the rapidity with which that will need to happen. As can be seen from the infrastructure column in the main table, shortages of public chargers do not appear to be the main deterrent to EV acquisition that so much of the public discussion would have us believe. A recent piece in the Financial Times, [Electric vehicle charging crisis is overdone](https://www.ft.com/content/70449749-c54f-4a37-8033-efd567d868e6), expanded on that view noting that the ‘private’ home charger network was the critical component to support an enlarged electric vehicle fleet , and that in most markets the domestic network was more than adequate. The article concluded that “the cost of EVs, not insufficient charging infrastructure, is the real barrier to adoption”. S&P’s recently published global [2024 EV forecast](https://www.spglobal.com/mobility/en/research-analysis/2024-ev-forecast-the-supply-chain-charging-network-and-battery.html) is similarly upbeat about the progress of public charger provision: “The number of AC and DC chargers installed globally surged from 3 million in 2019 to more than 10 million in 2022. The count will increase to more than 15 million globally in 2023, and we forecast 70 million in 2030.” However, where the infrastructure index falls between quarters this usually indicates that the expansion of the EV fleet is outstripping public charger provision in those markets (rather than that the charger network is shrinking). It is important therefore not to be complacent about the need to retain momentum in the area of infrastructure provision. ### New initiatives to promote EV adoption Governments around Europe will be following recent French policy initiatives aiming to encourage EV ownership among low income groups. A ‘Social Leasing’ scheme,  under discussion since 2022, is finally launching during the first quarter of 2024. This enables French residents earning less than €15,400 to lease an electric car without a deposit for as little as €54 per month. (Additionally, to qualify, the driver must travel more than 15 km to their workplace or drive over 8,000 km a year.) The [list of eligible vehicles](https://www.largus.fr/actualite-automobile/leasing-social-voici-les-modeles-peugeot-citroen-opel-fiat-et-jeep-eligibles-30031047.html) does not include Chinese models which have been explicitly excluded from this and broader EV incentive schemes by the introduction of new criteria targeting CO2 emissions during manufacture.The Italian government is considering [a series of measures](https://europe.autonews.com/automakers/italy-mulls-1-billion-plan-boost-ev-sales) to boost EV adoption including, potentially, a social leasing scheme similar to that implemented in France. This would target the most polluting cars over 20 years in age and support purchase of a replacement EV with a subsidy of up to €13,750 for those whose annual earnings were below €30,000. A detailed proposal will be presented to car industry representatives at the start of February. Similar schemes are in an early stage of discussion for possible implementation in the Spanish market. In November, Spain’s ‘Moves III’ Plan was extended seven months “to maintain the promotion of the electrification of transport and make firm progress towards achieving the goal of having 5.5 million electric vehicles on the road by 2030”. ### Looking ahead The immediate future looks uncertain for the EV market in Europe with pricing remaining the key barrier to a smooth transition to mass market adoption. True, a number of European manufacturers have [revealed their intentions](https://europe.autonews.com/cars-concepts/renault-citroen-fiat-launch-rivals-cheap-chinese-electric-cars) to introduce sub-€25,000 EVs, but many of these vehicles have advanced little beyond the drawing board. Past experience also suggests that the first release of these smaller models is likely to be of higher-trim variants commanding premium prices with the lower-priced versions following some months behind. Even in advance of its launch at February’s Geneva motor show the pricing of the much heralded all electric Renault 5 has crept upwards. UK customers for example have been told to expect prices starting at GBP 30,000 , more than €35,000 at current exchange rates , with its arrival now timed for 2025. The new Chinese brand entrants may be waiting in the wings with more affordable products, but for the moment such developments are on hold as the [EU Commission reviews the subsidy](https://www.europarl.europa.eu/RegData/etudes/ATAG/2023/754553/EPRS_ATA(2023)754553_EN.pdf) their manufacture receives from the Chinese state and considers possible tariff increases to stymie any price advantage they might enjoy. The EV Index from Sophus3 provides an objective measure of the readiness of the vehicle market to enable and encourage the mainstream adoption of electric vehicles (EVs). The index is formed from three pillars, each measuring distinct factors that help or hinder electric vehicle acquisition. First of these is the consumer appetite to buy electric, the second is the capability of the automotive companies to supply these cars, and the third is the availability of suitable charging infrastructure. A score of 100 represents parity in the attractiveness, availability, pricing and usability of an electric car compared with a conventionally fuelled vehicle. We publish the EV Index for the UK, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, The Netherlands, and Norway. A fuller explanation of the EV Index from Sophus3 , and links to previous issues, can be found [here](/ev_index/) ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2024-02-01. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Digital transformation based on facts, not concepts - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/digital-transformation/ - Published: 2024-01-01 - Updated: 2026-10-13 - Category: Case Study - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: A 12-month ecommerce transformation programme for a leading European car brand: 20 markets, 250 people from leadership to market teams, all working from their own performance data. ## The brief A leading European car brand asked Sophus3 to help it move to ecommerce across 20 European markets. The aim was permanent capability, not a one-off training course: a shared evidence base and a common language that would break down silos between leadership, central functions and the markets, and improve marketing performance. ![Programme summary: 12 months, 20 European markets and 250 participants, delivered in six steps from market assessment and competitor benchmarking to embedding new processes](assets/img/insights/digital-transformation-programme.webp "The programme at a glance. Source: Sophus3.") ## Why a data specialist ran it Generic digital training talks in concepts. This programme used each market’s own performance data, benchmarked against its competitors, so every discussion started from facts the teams recognised. A market that could see where it was losing ground to a named competitor did not need to be persuaded that change was necessary. ## Scale - **12 months** from first assessment to new ways of working. - **20 European markets**, each with different capabilities, processes and barriers. - **250 participants**, from CEOs and senior leadership to market marketing teams. ## How the programme worked - **Assess each market.** Map current capabilities, processes and the barriers to ecommerce in every country. - **Benchmark against competitors.** Show each market where its digital performance stood against the brands it competes with. - **Align leadership.** Agree the desired future state at the top, so markets receive one consistent direction. - **Learn and coach.** Combine tailored online learning with coached workshops built around each market’s challenges. - **Plan as a market team.** Systemic market-team sessions turn the learning into practical, owned plans. - **Embed.** Transition the new processes into day-to-day ways of working, so the change outlasts the programme. ## What it was designed to leave behind A common language and shared evidence across leadership, functions and markets; market plans built on each market’s own data; and new processes running in day-to-day work rather than sitting in a training deck. ## Why global brands trust Sophus3 with programmes like this - **Automotive depth.** Sophus3 has worked with car brands online since 2001 and has run eDataXchange benchmarking since 2003, tracking more than 500 automotive websites across 30 markets. - **Security that procurement recognises.** Sophus3 is assessed under TISAX, the automotive industry’s own information-security framework. - **Senior people throughout.** The specialists who design the programme deliver it, in English and German. - **Independence.** Sophus3 is independent of media owners and agencies, so recommendations follow the evidence. ## Client confidentiality The brand is anonymised. Programme scope and delivery details come from Sophus3’s published case study; individual market results are confidential. Planning a multi-market capability programme? [Talk to Sophus3](/contact). Based on Sophus3’s published digital transformation case study. The client is anonymised. ### Quiz: Can you match these Chinese brands with their models? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/can-you-match-these-chinese-brands-and-models/ - Published: 2023-12-18 - Updated: 2023-12-18 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Chinese brands entering Europe are facing a familiar challenge in mature automotive markets: what to call their cars. The majority are resorting to the reliable, if… Chinese brands entering Europe are facing a familiar challenge in mature automotive markets: what to call their cars. The majority are resorting to the reliable, if forgettable, alphanumeric naming conventions first developed by German premium brands some decades ago. Recently, Great Wall Motors rowed back from the ‘creatively’ named ORA Funky Cat and Wey Coffee 01, replacing them with the ORA 03 and the Wey 05 respectively. But are these badges sufficient to capture customer imagination and loyalty, particularly when the brands themselves are unknown to the majority of European consumers? Only BYD stands apart in using figurative model names such as Seal and Dolphin. Our graphic below has 24 new Chinese brands and 43 car models that they manufacture. How many can you match together?Answering the quiz correctly is an almost impossible task as there is significant duplication in many of the identifiers chosen by the different brands. Here are the brands and their models correctly aligned:As the table shows, four brands are using variations of the number one as model designations: the Polestar 1 and Lynk & Co 01 have been joined by the Smart #1 and Zeekr 001. Two brands, Aiways and YangWang, are both using U as a suffix. Which of these, we wonder, will be first to claim U7 as their own? Two have chosen designations already used by other brands: C5, used previously by Citroën, and X which is a current Tesla model name. Sophus3’s recent survey of Chinese brand digital platforms found there are now 86 active sites in the key 13 European markets these brands are targeting. This represents only 40% of their potential digital capacity.  As they expand their footprint, and with new Chinese models being announced almost weekly in Europe, the confusion for the consumer is likely to only get worse. ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2023-12-18. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Are your analytics adding business value? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-are-your-analytics-adding-business-value/ - Published: 2023-06-20 - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Category: Analytics - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Three questions from Sophus3 about connecting website measurement with the decisions automotive teams make. ## Start with the decision In this Sophus3 video, Scott Gairns asks whether the output of automotive analytics teams actually helps the business decide what to do. Website measurement captures one part of a much wider buying journey. ## Connect the evidence The first recommendation is to consider analytics alongside other relevant information, including sales and media investment. That wider perspective can make changes in website behaviour easier to interpret. ## Review the tools The second recommendation is to review whether the measurement setup supports the questions the team needs to answer. The video discusses the analytics products available at its 2023 publication date; product capabilities have evolved since then. ## Understand collection choices The third topic is server-side tracking and its implementation complexity. Moving collection to a server does not remove consent obligations: the measurement design still needs to respect applicable privacy requirements and users’ choices. ## A useful review question For each regular report, identify the decision it supports, the person who uses it and the action it can change. [Watch the full discussion on Vimeo](https://vimeo.com/818641997). Summary of the original Sophus3 publication; original publication date retained. ### Video: Is the marketing funnel destroying customer experience? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-is-the-marketing-funnel-destroying-customer-experience/ - Published: 2023-05-31 - Updated: 2023-05-31 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3’s Head of Insight, Patrick Fuller, says prioritising customer experience is key to car brands making a success of their ecommerce channels Transcript: “As the… [Watch the recording](https://vimeo.com/831776867) ### Sophus3’s Head of Insight, Patrick Fuller, says prioritising customer experience is key to car brands making a success of their ecommerce channels Transcript: “As the car industry enters an era of customer-direct selling, replacing traditional dealerships with an ecommerce approach, the temptation will be to focus on the marketing funnel. It risks losing sight of what matters most: the customer experience , a bit like a sales person immediately offering you a contract when you walk through the door of a dealership. Nothing is more off-putting than the hard sell.””Sophus3’s analysis shows that customers enjoy shopping more if they feel like they are in control of the process, and one way to achieve this is to make every interaction more ‘transactional’. This does not mean a contract and signature, but a different sort of transaction where the customer feels like they are making progress towards their goal. We have all been taught to expect this by social media and online gaming, in particular younger demographics who seek a reward for their online interactions.””It is therefore essential to develop our understanding of online customer engagement and what makes a customer choose a particular brand. How can digital channels develop that relationship in a positive way? New finance products and ‘ownership’ models will be key if automotive brands are to create a genuine ecommerce capability. Services such as finance and insurance become opportunities to create a customer relationship earlier in the buying process. Currently, 15% of visits are to Finance and 2% to Insurance, which seems very low given that they are both timely and relevant to most car purchases. So the question auto marketing teams need to ask themselves is: ‘should we be exploiting our services more in the buying process?’.” Our video is accompanied by our annual white paper on the automotive digital landscape, Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2023. ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2023-05-31. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Video: Is your market ready for auto ecommerce? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-is-your-market-ready-for-auto-ecommerce/ - Published: 2023-05-16 - Updated: 2023-05-16 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Scott Gairns describes the assistance that the Ecommerce Readiness Index provides to car brands developing direct-to-consumer retail channels Transcript: “The car… [Watch the recording](https://vimeo.com/826164645) ### Scott Gairns describes the assistance that the Ecommerce Readiness Index provides to car brands developing direct-to-consumer retail channels Transcript: “The car industry has a problem: despite more than half of brands offering an ecommerce solution of some sort, just four per cent of visits are to an ecommerce-specific page. In an era where all brands are becoming more customer focused and looking to pivot from the traditional retail model to something more like an Apple store, this weakness must be addressed. The question is, which markets are ready for ecommerce and how can car brands get their timing right? Sophus3 has created a new tool to understand which countries are best placed to embrace online sales. Our new Ecommerce Readiness Index brings together multiple data points across macroeconomic conditions, levels of online consumer interaction with car brands, ecommerce activity in other sectors, and the ecommerce capabilities of core competitors.” “Once a car brand has decided how receptive their customers in each market are to ecommerce, the next decision is to strike the right balance between transacting and choosing. We have already seen how weak the car industry is at engaging customers, but is ecommerce likely to make that even worse as brands try to push more buyers down the funnel? Sophus3 recommends that you develop a KPI framework that measures business performance without ignoring the customer experience, aggregating a series of ‘micro-transactions’ that reward customer engagement and aligns sales performance with the brand promise.” Our video is accompanied by our annual white paper on the automotive digital landscape, Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2023. ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2023-05-16. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Video: What are the digital capabilities of the Chinese car brands entering Europe? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/what-are-the-digital-capabilities-of-the-chinese-car-brands-entering-europe/ - Published: 2023-04-24 - Updated: 2023-04-25 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: View Are Chinese Brands Becoming More Digita In this latest episode from Sophus3’s Automotive Digital Summit 2023 we share unique research and insight into the digital… [View Are Chinese Brands Becoming More Digita](https://vimeo.com/820422138) ### In this latest episode from Sophus3’s Automotive Digital Summit 2023 we share unique research and insight into the digital strategies of the Chinese brands now entering the European car market Transcript: There’s been much speculation about the route to market for Chinese car brands, who are turning their attention to Europe as growth stalls in China. We analysed 14 Chinese origin car brands across nine European markets and found that Sweden had the most Chinese brands active in digital, with the Netherlands, Germany and Denmark also strongly represented. Our research showed that the majority of Chinese challengers favoured dealer networks over a direct-to-consumer model, recognising the need to establish credibility and awareness before turning to e-commerce. Key brands include Geely, Chery, NIO, BYD and XPeng, some offering vehicles under €25,000, a price advantage of between €5,000 and €10,000 over traditional brands. Brand awareness is already accelerating, and our data revealed that Chinese brands had an amazing 16% of the digital audience in Norway at the end of last year.However, most Chinese brands are not yet getting digital right. Less than half the brands with ambitions to come to Europe have a live website and of those that do, most are basic. Less than 50% have a configurator, with the next most common features being dealer locators, subscriptions and test drives. Most did not have live chat, finance or e-commerce. The established brands in Europe have always been brilliant at building on their product advantage, making new cars that stay one step ahead of the disruptors. But now they must build on their two decades of digital experience and apply the same commitment and creativity to the customer-direct relationship. You can read Sophus3’s white paper in full by following these links: [Part 1. Chinese auto brands coming to Europe](/sophus3-briefing-paper-chinese-auto-brands-in-europe-part-1/) [Part 2. How ‘digital’ are Chinese challenger auto brands?](/sophus3-briefing-paper-chinese-auto-brands-in-europe-2/)Our video is accompanied by our annual white paper on the automotive digital landscape, Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2023. ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2023-04-24. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Video: Which automotive markets are growing in digital? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-which-automotive-markets-are-growing-in-digital/ - Published: 2023-04-18 - Updated: 2023-04-20 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: View Video: Which markets are growing in digital? In this latest extract from Sophus3’s Automotive Digital Summit 2023 Scott Gairns examines the differences in car-buyer… [View Video: Which markets are growing in digital?](https://vimeo.com/818641997) ### In this latest extract from Sophus3’s Automotive Digital Summit 2023 Scott Gairns examines the differences in car-buyer interest between different global regions and suggest some possible reasons for the large variations Transcript: “Sophus3 works with 23 auto brands globally to build an accurate picture of today’s digital car buying trends, and our latest analysis reveals some clear divides between Europe and the Americas. After some years of experimentation with new models of mobility which have achieved only limited traction, innovation is starting to become more business critical, not least because of the effect of the economic squeeze. An amazing 6 million fewer cars were manufactured in 2022 compared with 2019, resulting in average lead times for a new car of up to six months, according to many analysts.[View Video: Which markets are growing in digital?](https://vimeo.com/818641997)So it is perhaps surprising that many markets saw growth in digital audiences, but again, it’s uneven. The US was down in new car sales, but its automotive digital audience increased. Our hypothesis is that car sales in this strange time are not necessarily a lead indicator of economic health, and interest remained strong in the US, resulting in sustained marketing spend despite a shortage of products. Europe, on the other hand, is seeing similar supply problems, but demand has weakened, leading to reduced marketing and smaller audiences. This unprecedented volatility in both the market and the automotive business model means two things. The competition for buyers will be stronger than ever, and, second, digital will be the key battleground.” Our video is accompanied by our annual white paper on the automotive digital landscape, Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2023. ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2023-04-18. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Video: What works best in automotive ecommerce? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/video-what-works-best-in-automotive-ecommerce/ - Published: 2023-03-21 - Updated: 2023-04-03 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: View Video: Sophus3 Digital Automotive Summit 2023Car brands are approaching ecommerce in different ways, but what does the data tell us about best practice? In this… [View Video: Sophus3 Digital Automotive Summit 2023](https://vimeo.com/809889850)Car brands are approaching ecommerce in different ways, but what does the data tell us about best practice? In this 10-minute video, the Sophus3 team draws on millions of consumer interactions across hundreds of automotive brand sites in Europe to reveal: - Which ecommerce strategies are working - Why car brands need to rethink engagement - Latest digital trends for EVs - How website analytics can drive performance Our video is accompanied by our annual white paper on the automotive digital landscape, Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2023. ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2023-03-21. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2023 - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/white-paper-digital-car-buyer-in-numbers-2023/ - Published: 2023-03-21 - Updated: 2026-09-08 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3’s annual research examines audiences, engagement and ecommerce through its collaborative automotive data. ## A research view of automotive ecommerce Sophus3’s 2023 white paper draws on the eDataXchange automotive digital competitor benchmarking partnership of 23 European car brands. It examines the digital automotive landscape through audience behaviour, engagement and funnel performance. ## What the report covers - Digital trends and changes in automotive audiences. - Engagement and progression through the buying journey. - Comparisons of marketing investment and social media activity. - The outlook presented for the following twelve months. ## Who it helps The report provides historical context for automotive marketing, ecommerce and analytics teams. Comparing it with later Sophus3 research can help frame questions about how buyer expectations and brand experiences have changed. ## Request the full report The full white paper is available from the Sophus3 team on request. [Contact Sophus3](/contact) and we will send you a copy. This page is an overview, not a replacement for the full white paper. All findings and forecasts in the original report relate to its 2023 publication period. Summary of the original Sophus3 publication; original publication date retained. ### How digital were Chinese challenger brands? - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-briefing-paper-chinese-auto-brands-in-europe-2/ - Published: 2022-12-08 - Category: Market Intelligence - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: The second briefing paper provides a baseline for understanding how new entrants’ European websites have evolved. ## A late-2022 snapshot Sophus3 surveyed 14 groups or brands across nine European markets. Researchers identified 56 active websites from 126 possible brand-market combinations. Just over half offered a configurator, while roughly a third referenced vehicle finance. Three quarters used a conventional dealer-based retail channel, and four offered a full ecommerce capability. ## Presence is not readiness A live website does not necessarily provide all the information and tools needed to support a purchase. The study examined practical capabilities, from model pricing and finance information to test-drive requests. ## Use the archive as a baseline These findings describe the late-2022 survey, not the brands’ present capabilities. The original was updated in January 2023 to reflect changes at selected BYD websites. Read alongside later challenger-brand research to understand how quickly the landscape has moved. Adapted from the original Sophus3 publication. Market findings relate to the date shown. ### Chinese auto brands coming to Europe: full report - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-briefing-paper-chinese-auto-brands-in-europe-part-1/ - Published: 2022-11-27 - Category: Challenger Brands - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 examined the strategy behind Chinese automotive brands entering Europe, with EVs, pricing power and measured market expansion central to the picture. Sophus3’s 2022 briefing examined why Chinese automotive manufacturers were accelerating their move into Europe and which groups were most likely to establish a meaningful presence. The report identified new-energy vehicles as the principal route into Europe. Chinese manufacturers had built scale and expertise in batteries and electric vehicles, while European EV demand, higher vehicle pricing and government support made the region commercially attractive. ## Strategic themes - New entrants were prioritising safety and product quality to avoid the weaknesses of earlier attempts to enter Europe. - Lower manufacturing costs and scale created significant potential pricing power. - Fleet and rental channels were an important route to early volume and exposure. - Many brands were taking a measured approach, often launching in Nordic markets before expanding further. Sophus3 concluded that the market was still at an early stage and that it was too soon to identify clear winners. The later “Long March” research updated this picture as the brands’ European digital footprint expanded. ### How to put the ‘human’ into auto ecommerce - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/best-practice-in-automotive-e-commerce/ - Published: 2022-06-08 - Updated: 2023-03-29 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Tuesday 7th June 2022 | The second video in our 2022 Automotive Summit focuses on ecommerce, direct from the state-of-the-art virtual showroom facility at Volkswagen… **Tuesday 7th June 2022** | The second video in our 2022 Automotive Summit focuses on ecommerce, direct from the state-of-the-art virtual showroom facility at Volkswagen Group’s UK headquarters in Milton Keynes. Brands that are embracing digital tools and processes like these are seeing improved, higher-value sales and increased profits. The 12 minute video is presented by Scott and members of Sophus3’s experienced Insight team, and shows: - How today’s car buyers behave online - What ecommerce KPIs can be used to drive business growth - How to introduce human contact to increase conversions - Which digital tools are most effective in engaging with and retaining customers You can watch this latest video here: ### [Video: best practice in automotive ecommerce](https://youtu.be/FiVfJbQb5lQ) You can watch the previous episode in the series here: [7 trends in digital automotive marketing](/sophus3-digital-automotive-summit-2022/) Further insights into the digital car buyer are also provided by the white paper which accompanies the programmes and is available for download in .pdf format: [download id=”51997″] ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2022-06-08. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### White paper: Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2022 - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/download-the-digital-car-buyer-in-numbers-2022/ - Published: 2022-03-31 - Updated: 2023-03-29 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Download the Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2022 Thursday 31st March 2022 | Sophus3 today releases the 2022 edition of our annual review of the automotive sector’s… ## Download the Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2022 **Thursday 31st March 2022** | Sophus3 today releases the 2022 edition of our annual review of the automotive sector’s digital, campaign and sales performance during the previous year, and sets out some predictions for the year ahead. From the introduction: “The Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2022 looks in more detail at the progress made last year by the industry as it continues its transition to digital business models to engage and transact with consumers. We look ahead also to the challenges and the pressures that car makers face in the months ahead and the likely priorities for digital teams within the industry as they seek to navigate another highly unpredictable year.” ### Executive summary **2021: The year in numbers** - The fall in visits to car brand sites in 2021 suggests the undercounting of traffic due to an increase in the rejection of cookies since GDPR. (p.5) - Traffic patterns over the year reflected the fortunes of the car market, declining in the second half. (p. 6) - Germany saw the largest downturn. (p. 6) - Globally, the USA was where traffic recovered most from the Covid downturn in 2020. (p. 7) - Bounce rate, visit duration and page view data show the need to engage quickly with the audience. (p. 8) - There was a decrease in activity year-on-year in the lower funnel of car brand sites. (p. 8) - Device use continued its shift to mobile; only 34% of visits were on a PC/laptop. (p. 9) - Traffic to SUV model pages showed these products remained of most interest to online visitors (p.10) but interest in EVs continued to grow, accounting for a fifth of all model page visits. (p.11) - Automotive press and TV advertising grew over the year as a whole but was below 2020’s level in the final quarter as supply chain difficulties impacted brands’ marketing activity. (p.12) - Renault led OEM spending (p.13) heavily promoting its Zoe EV model. (p.14) - European new car registrations had risen by 28% mid-year but these gains were wiped out as supply chain problems slashed sales in the second half of 2021 (p.15) - SUVs remained predictably popular although the market may have been distorted as high margin vehicles were prioritised. (p.16) Brands with reserves of components fared better. (p.17) - Registrations of pure Battery Electric Vehicles (BEVs) increased 72% in the Big 5. (p. 18) - There were 123 brand site visits for every car registered during the year , a 4% improvement over 2021. (p.19) 2022: Ten things that will shape the year ahead - Covid (p. 20) - Chip shortages (p. 20) - The economy, stupid (p. 22) - EVs: “are we there yet”? (p. 23) - Road pricing back on the agenda (p. 24) - F1 withering on the vine (p. 25) - Mobility services (p. 25) - Agency models (p. 26) - LCVs unromantic but profitable (p. 26) - Continuing digital transformation (p. 27) You can download the full document here in .pdf format: [download id=”51997″] ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2022-03-31. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Europe’s car brands are sleep-walking into historic levels of marketing inefficiency - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/europes-car-brands-are-sleep-walking-into-historic-levels-of-marketing-inefficiency/ - Published: 2022-03-10 - Updated: 2022-03-10 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Europe’s car brands are sleep-walking into historic levels of marketing inefficiency The latest analysis from automotive digital specialists Sophus3 suggests car brands… ## Europe’s car brands are sleep-walking into historic levels of marketing inefficiency ### The latest analysis from automotive digital specialists Sophus3 suggests car brands are using outdated strategies to chase unrealistic targets **Thursday 10th March, 2022** | Sophus3 today releases the first episode of highlights from the 2022 edition of the Automotive Digital Summit. The event offers detailed analysis of car brands’ digital, campaign and sales performance over the 12 months of 2021 and looks ahead to the challenges in the year ahead. Sophus3’s analysis points to the continuing inefficiency of the automotive sector’s digital activity. Despite spending huge budgets on digital display, search and social media campaigns, our data shows that less than one tenth of one percent of all visitors to car brand sites will go on to buy a vehicle. This long term trend has been made worse by audience ‘blind spots’ caused by the implementation of privacy policies that make it harder to track visitors and measure digital effectiveness. Sophus3 estimates that between 20 and 50 percent of the audience to car sites is, effectively, rendered invisible. The Return on Investment calculations that brands make about their marketing activities are therefore becoming ever more distorted and flattering of the true, underlying performance. As more car brands introduce ecommerce solutions to sit alongside the traditional dealer retail channel, they have an opportunity to reach buyers more directly and to cut waste through improved targeting. Yet many brands continue to focus on generating big audience numbers without being realistic about the conversion to sales that is possible. ‘The car industry is so conditioned to low conversion numbers that it does not question them,’ says Sophus3’s managing director, Scott Gairns. ‘In the pre-digital era, the average car brand used TV to create buzz around models and turned a blind eye to the poor results it delivered. But that is no longer acceptable in the digital age. Our data shows that improvements are urgently required, but also, that they should be well within the reach of brands who use digital data to understand their performance and to continually refine their digital effectiveness.’ ‘It is time for the car industry to align their marketing investment to realistic sales modelling and put pressure on their digital partners to deliver better results,’ says Scott. ‘The key to that is good data management and insight. In a climate where costs are under such scrutiny, this could be the easiest and quickest way to improve profitability.’ You can hear more from Scott and the Sophus3 team of analysts in this short 12-minute video which can be viewed here: [Sophus3 Digital Automotive Summit 2022](/sophus3-digital-automotive-summit-2022/) The video is accompanied by our annual white paper, ‘The Digital Car Buyer in Numbers’, which contains the more detailed data behind the trends and further insights into the factors that will shape the car market during 2022. You can request a download of the full document from the same page. ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2022-03-10. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### What automotive can learn from other sectors in digital - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-quarterly-insights-event-interview-delu-jackson/ - Published: 2021-11-18 - Updated: 2023-03-29 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 Quarterly Insights Event Q4: What automotive can learn from other sectors In this edition we talk with Marketing Strategist DeLu Jackson who spent many years in… ## Sophus3 Quarterly Insights Event Q4: What automotive can learn from other sectors ### In this edition we talk with Marketing Strategist DeLu Jackson who spent many years in the US car industry with brands including Subaru, Audi and Nissan DeLu has subsequently moved across different consumer verticals, performing senior digital roles for McDonald’s, Kellogg, and Conagra Brands. In September he became CMO for security specialist ADT. This wide experience has given him a clear insight into what those businesses do differently and enables him to reflect on what car brands must address to strengthen their digital transformation and to improve their reactivity to would-be buyers.Some of the key insights DeLu shares include: - The car buyer is not a separate category , their expectations are shaped by the experience of shopping for countless other products. - The car industry has designed processes for its benefit rather than the consumer’s. The focus is on driving the customer to offline engagement rather than providing the experience that the customer wants on their terms. - The industry sets itself unrealistic conversion rates, completely losing sight of how many people can be in the market for a car at any one time. - Car brands need to address waiting times for their products when the digital world provides almost instant gratification in so many other areas. - Digital feedback allows very targeted activity so automotive marketers can simplify communications and waste less resources in the process. - Enabling digital transformation is about people and culture rather than technology. Scott Gairns, Sophus3’ s Managing Director, introduces the interview with some insights into the online car buyer’s journey and explains why we think ‘Click to Drive’ will become an established route to car usership in the next few years. The pandemic has been an accelerant to the industry’s digital transformation, and many brands are now considering moving to an agency model for their dealer networks. This would allow them to set consistent pricing across all sales channels which many see as the key precondition to making online purchase attractive. Click the image or [this link](https://youtu.be/P6lvrxgnYL4) to watch the interview in full (running time 22 minutes). Thoughts, comments, observations? Contact [@patrick.fuller@sophus3.com](mailto:@patrick.fuller@sophus3.com). ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2021-11-18. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### How to navigate privacy without compromising your analytics - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-briefing-paper-maintaining-digital-analytics-for-car-brands-within-new-privacy-and-consent-frameworks-2/ - Published: 2021-07-23 - Updated: 2023-03-29 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3 Briefing paper – July 2021 Maintaining digital analytics for car brands within new privacy and consent frameworks What is happening? A combination of changes is… ## Sophus3 Briefing paper , July 2021 ## Maintaining digital analytics for car brands within new privacy and consent frameworks ### What is happening? A combination of changes is upending the way organisations can track and interact with users of their digital channels. These changes are a response to consumers’ privacy concerns, but they also represent a tussle between the ‘tech giants’ to increase their power and control over digital markets whilst appearing to be privacy advocates. ### What the changes are **GDPR**, the General Data Protection Regulation, which came into effect in 2018, required owners of digital platforms to gain the assent of visitors for their personal data to be used for analytical or marketing purposes. This has already severely curtailed the way websites can track and engage with visitors. However, further changes are in train: **Google** Chrome has announced its privacy sandbox which will end the use of 3rd party cookies, prevent ‘digital fingerprinting’, and introduce ‘Federated Learning of Cohorts (FLoC)’ as an anonymised way of targeting advertising to digital audiences. (In June Google introduced more uncertainty when it announced it was postponing the introduction of FLoC and would be retaining third party cookie support until 2023, saying “more time is needed across the ecosystem to get this right.”) **Mozilla Firefox** SmartBlock could prevent cross-domain tracking by disabling scripts from external domains. **Apple** is introducing ‘Tracking Opt-in’ on iOS devices which requires users to give express permission to be tracked whilst using an app or related websites. ### The impact of the new initiatives The most disruptive impact will be on digital advertising. The complete disabling of third-party cookies (tracking codes that are placed on a visitor’s device by a site other than the one they are visiting) means advertisers will be unable to identify individuals based on their browsing history and recorded interests. This throws into disarray key parts of the digital advertising business model and will make it difficult for car brands , and others , to run targeted campaigns and measure their effectiveness. Of more concern from Sophus3’s point of view, is the impact of these changes on the analytic capabilities of car brands. Whilst the continuing use of 1st party cookies will allow a partial view of audience behaviour within a digital platform in isolation, the challenge will be to provide a holistic understanding of consumer behaviour within the wider digital automotive market-space and to measure the performance of those isolated platforms relative to each other. ### What the data shows At the end of 2020 Sophus3 undertook an audit of car brand websites in the UK to assess their progress in complying with the GDPR requirement to obtain consent to use cookies to track visitors. Two things came out of this audit that were alarming. Firstly, few of the consent mechanisms that brands had created were strictly compliant with the legislation. Whether by accident or design, many brands had laid themselves open to the penalties defined in the legislation. Secondly, those brands that had complied most fully, had experienced a major loss of traffic as site visitors withheld consent to the use of cookies and were rendered invisible.Sophus3 estimates that by the end of 2020 the number of visitors counted on car brand sites in the UK was down by -27% as a result of GDPR compliance. This audience invisibility can only worsen because of the further changes that the different tech companies have since announced. ### Sophus3’s response Having been aware of these changes since they were first proposed, Sophus3 is developing a strategic and technical response to allow the continuing analysis of digital audiences and the benchmarking of digital platforms. At the core of this is a consent free analytics system which we have named **TrueAudience**. This uses page view data and referring URLs to determine traffic numbers. This reduction in scope allows us to collect traffic without the use of personal data (IDs, IP addresses, digital fingerprints) or cookies. Thus, while limiting the metrics, we can get the full traffic. Layered with data modelled from the retained, ‘consented’ traffic, we can provide more detailed insight into visitor behaviour. ### Our timeline Over the summer months Sophus3 will be commencing a trial of our **TrueAudience** solution on the digital platforms of a partner brand. In the autumn we will be publishing the results of the trial within a whitepaper laying out in more detail the challenges the evolving privacy and consent framework presents. Before the end of the year, we will host a half-day, virtual roundtable discussion laying out the basis of our solution and the need to build a sector-wide, collaborative response to the challenges. We invite you, and your organisation’s participation within these endeavours. To be kept informed please complete the registration form below or email [contact@sophus3.com](mailto:contact@sophus3.com).**Error:** Contact form not found. ## Discuss this research [Contact the Sophus3 team](/contact) for the report, recording or a discussion of how these findings relate to your current market. Originally published by Sophus3 on 2021-07-23. Historical figures retain their original reporting period. Migrated from the Sophus3 research archive on 13 October 2026. ### Rethinking car buying in the ecommerce age - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-2021-automotive-digital-summit-whitepaper-rethinking-car-buying-in-the-ecommerce-age/ - Published: 2021-05-17 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: A Sophus3 study of how well car brand websites in Europe’s ‘Big 5’ markets support buyers who want to purchase online. ## Car retail after the pandemic The Covid-19 pandemic accelerated a decade-long shift towards digital car retail. Brands with digital tools in place weathered the closures better: they kept in touch with existing customers and, with technologies such as digital showrooms, built relationships with new ones. Many customers showed they were happy to complete some or all of the purchase online. ## What the study looked at In the first quarter of 2021, Sophus3 analysts assessed car brand websites in Germany, the UK, France, Italy and Spain, scoring each on how well it answers questions, provides information and helps a customer through the purchase journey. The brands covered were Audi, BMW, Citroën, Dacia, Fiat, Ford, Hyundai, Kia, Land Rover, Mercedes-Benz, Nissan, Peugeot, Renault, SEAT, Škoda, Tesla, Toyota, Opel/Vauxhall and Volkswagen. 17 data points were collected from 95 websites and combined into six metrics: - **Click-to-buy:** does the site openly invite you to buy, with clear calls to action and transparent pricing? - **Personalise product:** does the configurator offer a 360° view, and can you save and share a configuration? - **Interact in real time:** can you talk to a real person, including by video, and be shown around an actual vehicle? - **Trade-in valuation:** can you value the car you want to exchange? - **Personalised quote:** can you request a quote for the car you configured? - **Try before you buy:** how easy is it to request a test drive, and is a test drive from home offered? ## How the markets compared Performance across all five markets remained far from perfect. The UK scored slightly higher, with more prominent ‘Buy it now’ calls to action, more configurators that save progress, more Live Chat with video and virtual showroom functionality, and more trade-in valuation tools. Elsewhere, the differences between markets were slight. ## How the brands compared The two top-scoring brands were Mercedes-Benz and Dacia, at opposite ends of the premium-to-budget spectrum. Both rated highly for the breadth and consistency of their transactional features across every market, and for clear, brief information and short forms. The features most often missing were a ‘Buy it now’ button on model pages, a purchase link in the global navigation, and video within Live Chat. ## Key takeaway: run your own assessment The study offers a framework for assessing a website’s transactional capability. Brands will want to weight features to match their own strategy, add measures such as access to vehicle inventory and digital paperwork, and look beyond the interface to the operational capabilities that shape the real customer experience. ## Watch the summit presentation The findings were presented at the Sophus3 Automotive Digital Summit 2021. [Watch the summit recording on YouTube](https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Lc0BiXk3EXY). ## Download the whitepaper [Download Rethinking car buying in the ecommerce age (PDF, 13 pages)](/assets/reports/Rethinking-car-buying-in-the-ecommerce-age-2021.pdf) The detailed brand and market data behind the study is available to car brands participating in eDataXchange. [Contact Sophus3](/contact) to find out more. Originally published by Sophus3 in April 2021. Findings relate to websites assessed in the first quarter of 2021. ### The Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2021 - Canonical URL: https://sophus3.com/sophus3-2021-automotive-digital-summit-download-the-car-buyer-in-numbers-2021/ - Published: 2021-04-22 - Category: Research - Author: Sophus3 - Summary: Sophus3’s annual review of the digital automotive year: how Covid-19 changed car-buyer behaviour in 2020, and what the industry faced in 2021. ## The digital automotive year in review For much of 2020, car showrooms were shuttered and brands were forced to rely on digital channels to stay in contact with customers and to transact with them. Sophus3’s annual review, drawing on eDataXchange data, looks at the impact of the pandemic on the industry: what changed, what stayed the same, and the challenges ahead. ## 2020 in numbers - Traffic to car brand websites in the ‘Big 5’ European markets fell 56% in April, then recovered over the summer. - Over the full year, visits fell 11% year on year in the ‘Big 5’ markets and 13% globally. - 58% of site visits came from small-screen devices, up 8%, despite many people being confined to home. - SUVs remained the most visited segment online, while interest in electric vehicles rose sharply as government subsidies were announced. - Visits to car brand YouTube channels recovered and grew; interactions through Facebook fell. - Automotive print and TV advertising spend fell dramatically in April and had recovered to only 66% of its 2019 level by year end. - ‘Big 5’ registrations fell 25%, the worst on record, but registrations of battery electric vehicles more than doubled in Europe. - There were 129 car brand website visits for every car sold in 2020, effectively a 20% increase in conversion difficulty. ## The outlook for 2021 - The constraints imposed by the virus could not be assumed to disappear quickly. - The full economic impact would only become clear once government support programmes ended. - Car market recovery depended on economic recovery, and hopes of even 7 to 9% growth looked optimistic. - EVs and hybrids looked set to win a larger market share. - New models of car usership might make the market less exposed to a downturn than it was after 2008. - Car brands needed to keep strengthening their digital capabilities to meet expectations of rapid, personalised service and fulfilment. ## Download the report [Download The Digital Car Buyer in Numbers 2021 (PDF, 26 pages)](/assets/reports/Digital-Car-Buyer-in-Numbers-2021.pdf) All figures and forecasts relate to the report’s April 2021 publication. For a later view of the digital car buyer, read the 2023 edition. Originally published by Sophus3 in April 2021. Figures and forecasts relate to that publication period. ## Citation and content-use guidance Use canonical page URLs when referencing Sophus3. Preserve the market, period, sample and methodology context attached to research or example results. Do not generalise a named case-study metric into a guaranteed outcome. Prefer the current service page for capability definitions and the original insight page for published analysis. ## Discovery endpoints - Concise summary: https://sophus3.com/llms.txt - Structured JSON index: https://sophus3.com/site-index.json - XML sitemap: https://sophus3.com/sitemap.xml - Insights RSS: https://sophus3.com/feed.xml