PR for automotive
Automotive PR: getting cars, EVs and mobility brands covered
Automotive PR revolves around product: launches, drives and reviews. Motoring journalists want time behind the wheel, specs and prices, while business reporters follow EV adoption, supply chains and the dealer network. Suppliers and mobility start-ups often find their best audience in automotive trade press.
Story angles that work for automotive
Journalists do not cover companies, they cover stories. These are the angles that most often earn automotive coverage:
- Launch drives and long-term loan vehicles
- EV range, charging and price comparisons
- Supplier and technology stories for trade press
- Sales, registration and market data
How to run automotive PR yourself
- Pick one story. Choose the strongest angle above and write it in one sentence. If you cannot, the story is not ready.
- Build a short list. Find the 20 to 50 reporters who have covered automotive recently. A short list that fits beats a long list that does not.
- Write a personal pitch. Three short paragraphs: the news, why it matters to their readers, and what you can offer such as data, interviews or images.
- Follow up once. Three to five working days later, add something new rather than "just checking in".
- Track what lands. Note who replied and what they wrote about, so your next pitch is warmer.
What reporters on this beat want
- Put specs, price and availability in the first lines. Car journalists check them before reading on.
- Test drives and loan cars earn more coverage than any release.
Mistakes to avoid
- Launch releases without price and availability.
- Ignoring the trade press for supplier and dealer news.
Who covers automotive
InsightFuse lists 2,172 journalists, editors and producers whose role or outlet points to automotive coverage, across 89 countries. Here is where they work and what they do.
Where they work: top outlets and employers
- Lavoratore Autonomo
- Autonomo
- Selbständig
- Ford Motor Company
- Automatic Data Processing Insurance Agency, Inc.
- General Motors
- Creativedrive
- Autodesk
- Freiberuflich
- Walmart
- Automotive News
- Radio Kiev
| Country | Journalists |
|---|---|
| United States | 834 |
| Germany | 166 |
| United Kingdom | 142 |
| Brazil | 106 |
| Italy | 84 |
| Canada | 80 |
| India | 60 |
| South Africa | 58 |
| Role | Journalists |
|---|---|
| Editors | 618 |
| Writers | 610 |
| Journalists | 348 |
| Producers | 270 |
| Reporters | 72 |
| Editors-in-chief | 59 |
Counts come from the InsightFuse database and include only people with editorial job titles. Names and contact details are available inside the app.
Browse journalists on these beats
Related guides
Frequently asked questions
How do automotive brands get press?
Through launch events, test-drive programmes, review loans and data-led stories about the market, pitched to motoring, business and trade journalists.
What does an automotive PR agency do?
It runs press launches, manages press fleets, pitches product and corporate news and handles crises for vehicle makers, suppliers and mobility companies.
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