Table of contents
The average U.S. franchised new-car dealership put USD 83,247 into social media advertising in 2025 - 14.2% of a USD 586,246 total ad budget - while only 26% of car buyers report using social media anywhere in their shopping journey, per NADA and Cox Automotive's own 2025 figures. Powersports follows a similar logic with a different platform mix. This page lays out both sides with the year stated on every figure.
Key Takeaways
- The average dealership spent USD 83,247 on social media advertising in 2025 (NADA).
- That is 14.2% of the dealership's USD 586,246 total ad budget.
- Search engine marketing outspends it at USD 123,698, or 21.1%.
- Third-party listing sites take USD 117,249, or 20.0% of the budget.
- SEO and website optimization take USD 114,318, or 19.5%.
- Total U.S. franchised-dealership ad spend hit USD 9.96 billion in 2025.
- That climbed to USD 5.04 billion for just the first half of 2026 (midyear report).
- Average ad spend per new vehicle sold was USD 739 in 2025, up from USD 582 in 2019.
- 26% of car buyers used social media somewhere in their shopping journey (Cox Automotive).
- 28% of new-vehicle buyers used it, against 26% of used-vehicle buyers.
- Third-party sites reached 75% of buyers, dealership sites 59%.
- Search engines reached 41% of buyers; AI sites reached just 12%, 17% for new-vehicle buyers.
- The average buyer visited 4.6 sites during the shopping journey.
- 71% of U.S. adults still use Facebook versus 50% for Instagram (Pew Research Center).
- Facebook holds a 75% share of social referral traffic to third-party sites (StatCounter, via trade coverage).
- Instagram (62%) and TikTok (56%) lead specifically on brand research (Global Consumer Insights).
What a franchised dealership actually spends on social, in dollars
NADA Data 2025, the National Automobile Dealers Association's annual financial profile of America's franchised new-car dealerships, reports the average dealership's 2025 advertising budget at USD 586,246, spread across nine media categories. Social media advertising takes USD 83,247, or 14.2% of that total - the fifth-largest line, behind search engine marketing, third-party listing sites and SEO/website optimization, and just ahead of TV.
| Media (NADA Data 2025, average per dealership) | Spend | Share of total |
|---|---|---|
| Search engine marketing | $123,698 | 21.1% |
| Third-party listing sites | $117,249 | 20.0% |
| SEO / website optimization | $114,318 | 19.5% |
| Social media advertising | $83,247 | 14.2% |
| TV | $61,556 | 10.5% |
| Radio | $40,451 | 6.9% |
| Direct mail | $32,830 | 5.6% |
| Newspaper | $12,311 | 2.1% |
| Other | $586 | 0.1% |
The total dollars behind that per-dealership figure
Scaled across the industry, total franchised-dealership advertising expenditure reached USD 9.96 billion in 2025, per NADA Data 2025, up from a pandemic-era low of USD 7.48 billion in 2020. NADA's 2026 midyear report puts first-half 2026 spend at USD 5.04 billion, tracking toward another full-year increase. Average advertising spend per new vehicle sold ran USD 739 in 2025 (June-YTD basis), up from USD 582 in 2019 and USD 640 in 2020.
| Metric (NADA Data) | 2025 / most recent | Trend |
|---|---|---|
| Total franchised-dealership ad spend | $9.96 billion (2025) | Up from $7.48B in 2020 |
| First-half 2026 ad spend | $5.04 billion | On pace for another increase |
| Average ad spend per new vehicle sold | $739 (June-YTD 2025) | Up from $582 in 2019 |
How often car buyers actually touch social media while shopping
Spend is one side; buyer behavior is the other. Cox Automotive's 2025 Car Buyer Journey Study, surveying 2,300 consumers who purchased a new or used vehicle in the prior 12 months, found social media used by 26% of all buyers during their shopping journey - 28% of new-vehicle buyers and 26% of used-vehicle buyers. That places social behind third-party sites (75%), dealership websites (59%) and search engines (41%), and ahead of automaker websites (25%) and AI sites (12% overall, 17% among new-vehicle buyers - a category the study added for the first time in 2025). The average buyer visited 4.6 sites total.
| Touchpoint used during vehicle shopping (Cox Automotive 2025) | Total buyers | New-vehicle buyers |
|---|---|---|
| Third-party sites | 75% | 70% |
| Dealership website | 59% | 53% |
| Search engines | 41% | 41% |
| Used-vehicle online retailer | 30% | 18% |
| Social media | 26% | 28% |
| Automaker website | 25% | 33% |
| AI site | 12% | 17% |
Which platform actually carries the traffic and the research
Pew Research Center's late-2025 survey of U.S. adults found 71% report using Facebook, still the most-used platform, against 50% for Instagram - up from 40% in 2021. Trade coverage in Powersports Business (August 2026) cites a StatCounter analysis giving Facebook a 75% share of social referral traffic arriving on third-party websites, against 8% for Instagram - evidence that Facebook still functions as a traffic driver even where it is not the platform users spend the most time on.
Brand research specifically skews younger: the same trade coverage cites a Global Consumer Insights study finding Instagram (62%) and TikTok (56%) lead all platforms for user brand research, narrowly ahead of Facebook (53%). Dealers quoted in that coverage - Curt Grenier of Nault's Powersports & Marine and Dominique Robinson of Coleman PowerSports - describe still relying on Facebook and Facebook Marketplace for moving pre-owned inventory while building Instagram and short-form video for brand and community content.
| Platform signal (2025-2026, as noted) | Figure | Source |
|---|---|---|
| U.S. adults who use Facebook | 71% | Pew Research Center, late 2025 |
| U.S. adults who use Instagram | 50% | Pew Research Center, late 2025 |
| Facebook share of social referral traffic to third-party sites | 75% | StatCounter, via Powersports Business |
| Instagram share of the same referral traffic | 8% | StatCounter, via Powersports Business |
| Instagram share of brand research | 62% | Global Consumer Insights, via Powersports Business |
| TikTok share of brand research | 56% | Global Consumer Insights, via Powersports Business |
| Facebook share of brand research | 53% | Global Consumer Insights, via Powersports Business |
Reading the powersports side of the same data
Powersports lacks an association-level ad-spend breakdown as granular as NADA's, but the Motorcycle Industry Council's 2025 Statistical Annual and Economic Impact Report sizes the category the spend is chasing: an USD 50.9 billion powersports industry with 11 million motorcycles in use in the United States. Inside that market, the same platform behavior NADA and Cox Automotive document for cars shows up in dealer commentary: Facebook Marketplace still moves pre-owned inventory, while Instagram and short-form video carry the brand-building and community content that a pure listing feed cannot.
| Powersports market context (2025, MIC) | Figure |
|---|---|
| Powersports industry economic impact | $50.9 billion |
| Motorcycles in use in the U.S. | 11 million |
| Riders enjoying motorcycling annually | 30 million |
That scale matters for a budgeting decision: a category generating USD 50.9 billion in economic impact with 30 million active riders is large enough to support the same dedicated social media line item NADA documents for car dealerships, even without a matching association-level ad-spend report to cite a dollar figure from. The gap in available data is itself useful context - a powersports store benchmarking its own spend against "industry standard" numbers should treat any cited percentage for the category with more skepticism than the NADA figures above, which come from audited dealership financials rather than a marketing survey.
Sizing a powersports store's budget without an association-level benchmark
Without a NADA-equivalent media-mix report for powersports specifically, the defensible approach is to apply the car-dealership ratio as a starting point and adjust for channel behavior: since Facebook still carries 75% of social referral traffic and Instagram/TikTok lead on brand research (62% and 56%), a powersports store's social split should weight listing and Marketplace activity toward Facebook and brand/community content toward Instagram and short-form video, rather than spreading a flat budget evenly across platforms. Our own cross-industry lead-cost benchmarking, in average cost per lead by industry, is a useful cross-check once a store has live campaign data to compare against.
What this means for a dealership's social media line item
The honest 2025-2026 benchmark for a car dealership's social spend is roughly 14% of total advertising budget, sized behind search and listing-site spend rather than replacing it, aimed at a channel 26% of buyers actually use during their journey but that still drives real referral traffic through Facebook and real brand discovery through Instagram and TikTok. Our growth marketing team builds that allocation against the NADA benchmark above rather than a flat rule of thumb, our Meta Ads practice runs the Facebook Marketplace and Instagram split that dealer data supports, and we pair both with the search and third-party listing spend that Cox Automotive's data shows still reaches more buyers.
Frequently Asked Questions
How much does the average car dealership spend on social media advertising?
USD 83,247 per year, according to NADA Data 2025 - the National Automobile Dealers Association's annual financial profile of America's franchised new-car dealerships. That is 14.2% of the average dealership's total USD 586,246 advertising budget for 2025. Search engine marketing (USD 123,698, 21.1%) and third-party listing sites (USD 117,249, 20.0%) both outspend social media, and SEO/website optimization (USD 114,318, 19.5%) sits just above it.
Do car buyers actually use social media while shopping?
Yes, but as a secondary touchpoint. Cox Automotive's 2025 Car Buyer Journey Study, surveying 2,300 consumers who bought a new or used vehicle in the prior 12 months, found 26% of all buyers used social media somewhere in their research (28% of new-vehicle buyers, 26% of used-vehicle buyers). That trails third-party sites (75%), dealership websites (59%) and search engines (41%), but runs ahead of automaker websites (25%) and AI sites (12%, rising to 17% among new-vehicle buyers).
Which social platform matters most for a powersports dealership?
Facebook, by most available measures, though Instagram and TikTok lead on brand research specifically. Pew Research Center's late-2025 survey of U.S. adults found 71% still use Facebook against 50% for Instagram. Coverage in Powersports Business (August 2026) cites a StatCounter analysis giving Facebook a 75% share of social referral traffic to third-party websites versus 8% for Instagram, while a separate study by Global Consumer Insights found Instagram (62%) and TikTok (56%) edge out Facebook (53%) specifically for brand research before a purchase.
Is dealership advertising spending going up or down overall?
Up. NADA Data's 2026 midyear report puts total franchised-dealership advertising expenditure at USD 5.04 billion for the first half of 2026, and the full-year 2025 total in NADA Data 2025 was USD 9.96 billion, up from a low of USD 7.48 billion in 2020. Average advertising spend per new vehicle sold ran USD 739 in 2025 (June-YTD figures), up from USD 582 in 2019.
What kind of social content actually works for a dealership or powersports store?
Short-form video built around dealership personality, not just inventory listings. Powersports Business's August 2026 coverage of dealer social strategy quotes marketers at Coleman PowerSports and Nault's Powersports & Marine describing a shift toward short-form video that shows staff and community rather than pure unit photography, while still using Facebook Marketplace to move pre-owned inventory - a combination that matches Cox Automotive's data showing social sits alongside, not instead of, dealership and third-party sites in the buyer journey.
Sources
NADA Data 2025, National Automobile Dealers Association
NADA Data 2026: Midyear Report
Cox Automotive, 2025 Car Buyer Journey Study
Pew Research Center, Americans' Social Media Use 2025
Powersports Business, Social trends coverage, Aug. 2026
Motorcycle Industry Council, 2025 Statistical Annual
