Despite the tough auto market, auto manufacturers and dealers have become big-time spenders on the Internet, accounting for 15 percent of the total online ad market by the end of 2007, according to
eMarketer. The research aggregator expects auto companies to spend $2.7 billion in '07, up from $1.4 billion in 2005. The automotive industry is the largest advertising segment in the world, spending
$17 billion in the first 11 months of 2005. eMarketer says auto makers have been slow to commit to online advertising despite the fact that 70 percent of consumers use the Web at some point in their
auto search. This year eMarketer says that should change, with online spending increasing to $1.95 billion. That, of course, will come at the expense of other media.
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