Decide what the site is for before deciding whether it works.
In theory, automotive brands invest in websites to help sell cars. In practice, comparing those sites reveals different priorities: some focus on leads, others on research, and others on building affinity.
New entrants add further approaches to the mix. For customers, that variety can also mean unfamiliar journeys and unnecessary complexity.
Agree the purpose before judging performance
Sophus3 has spent more than two decades helping automotive brands understand digital behaviour. The contrast between strategies makes it important to ask what a website is intended to achieve before comparing its headline metrics.
A research-led experience and a tightly focused lead-generation site should not automatically be judged by the same engagement targets.
The April discussion
Our 16 April webinar brought these questions to Richard Hughes, whose senior marketing experience includes General Motors and Stellantis. He had returned to the UK after roles in Zurich and Frankfurt and led the Stellantis UK EV rollout through the end of 2025.
The event is now past. Read the published ten-point summary for the panel’s practical conclusions.
Adapted from Sophus3’s LinkedIn post dated 2026-04-07. Figures and market observations relate to that original update.