Sport Utility Vehicles Claim Nearly Half of All Online Automotive Advertising, According to Nielsen//NetRatings

Toyota 4Runner, GMC Envoy and Honda Element Grab the Top Spots

NEW YORK, April 14 -- Nielsen//NetRatings, the global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis, reports that sport utility vehicles posted nearly half of all automotive advertising during the first quarter of 2003. Sport utility vehicles or SUVs, recorded more than 1.2 billion ad impressions, dominating the auto manufacturers market with a 48 percent share and outnumbering car ads by more than 700 million impressions.

According to the Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance service, SUVs and cars have fought for the top position for more than a year. By the end of Q1 2003, cars and vans ran a close race, each claiming about 19 percent of the automotive manufacturers market, but second to SUV advertising (see Table 1). Pickup trucks owned 11 percent of the market, while specialty autos, including hybrids, motorcycles and recreational vehicles, posted the smallest number of impressions, accounting for just three percent of the market.

"The automotive online advertising trend clearly reflects American's current love affair with big vehicles," said Charles Buchwalter, vice president of client analytics, Nielsen//NetRatings. "Combining both SUVs, vans and trucks, large vehicles dominated the market nearly four to one."

Table 1: Automotive Online Advertising, Ranked by Market Share (U.S., Q1 2003)

                                        Impressions      Percent Share of
       Segment                           (Millions)     Auto Ad Market (%)

  1. Sport Utility Vehicles                1,213                48
  2. Cars                                    497                19
  3. Vans                                    472                19
  4. Pickup Trucks                           292                11
  5. Specialty Vehicles                       69                 3
  Source:  Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance

  Toyota, GMC and Honda Race to the Top

The Toyota 4Runner posted 534 billion impressions, racing to the top spot as the No. 1 advertised car model (see Table 2). GMC Envoy recorded 355 million impressions landing in second place. The Honda Element accounted for 45 million impressions, while the Nissan Murano was close behind with 44 million ad impressions. The Infinity FX45, rounded out the top five with 40 million impressions. Many of the car manufacturers chose portals and Internet service providers to launch their SUV ad creatives, accounting for 68 percent of all ads.

"The Internet provides a very qualified target audience for car manufacturers, with more than 50 percent of the 18-49 age group logging online regularly," added Buchwalter. "Over the past year, we've seen the automotive industry utilize the online medium as a key part of their campaigns, becoming one of the leading industries using rich media technologies to get their message across."

  Table 2: Top SUVs Advertised, Ranked by Ad Impressions (U.S. Q1-2003)

     Car Model                               Impressions (Millions)

  1. Toyota 4Runner                                    534
  2. GMC Envoy                                         355
  3. Honda Element                                      45
  4. Nissan Murano                                      44
  5. Infiniti FX45                                      40
  6. Volvo XC90                                         28
  7. Porsche Cayenne                                    25
  8. Mitsubishi Endeavor                                24
  9. Lexus GX                                           21
  10. Kia Sorento                                       14
  Source:  Nielsen//NetRatings AdRelevance

  About Nielsen//NetRatings

Nielsen//NetRatings is the global standard for Internet audience measurement and analysis and is the industry's premier source for online advertising intelligence with its NetView, AdRelevance, @Plan and WebRF services. Covering 70 percent of the world's Internet usage, the Nielsen//NetRatings services offer syndicated Internet and digital media ratings reports and custom-tailored data to help companies gain valuable insight into their business. For more information, please visit www.nielsen-netratings.com.

Editor's Note: Please source all data to Nielsen//NetRatings.