Annual US auto sales overall declined by as much as 4.7% in 2020, according to Bloomberg. Automotive companies made cuts to their advertising budgets at the onset of the pandemic, which led to an 18.2% decline in digital ad spending for the US automotive industry last year, according to our estimates.

However, the arrival of stimulus checks, record-low interest rates, and vaccination rollouts could mean the industry will receive a lift to its sales in the US, which may translate to higher digital ad spending. We estimate that automotive digital ad spending will grow by 21.4% in 2021 to $13.29 billion, slightly below its pre-pandemic peak.

Read More:

• Programmatic digital display advertising is having an identity crisis
• US Programmatic Digital Display Advertising Outlook 2021
• US Automotive Digital Ad Spending 2020

eMarketer and Business Insider Intelligence have joined forces to become the leading research company focused on digital transformation. For more insights and key statistics on the biggest trends in today's most disruptive industries, subscribe to Chart of the Day.