AI, Reels, Creators, and WhatsApp driving lead gen for auto OEMs and dealerships, reveals Meta and FADA Whitepaper

Mumbai, January 21, 2025: Meta and Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) today unveiled a joint whitepaper and playbook highlighting the changing consumer behavior and preferences in the automotive segment driven by digital adoption. With digital influencing consumer behavior and powering the growth of the sector, the findings and recommendations from the whitepaper can unleash digital transformation of auto OEMs and dealerships across India.

In 2023, Meta and FADA had launched ‘Move with Meta’, an upskilling and enablement program to upskill more than 3000 auto dealers across the country. The initiative aimed to help them build a social presence and digitize their customer outreach and lead generation using the Meta Platforms.

Since its launch, the program has delivered exceptional results, driving a 3X growth in dealer digitization and successfully upskilling 6,000+ dealers through the hyperlocal program, surpassing the initial commitment of 3,000 dealers. More than 3000 auto dealers had been upskilled before the start of the program, which takes the total number of auto dealers that have been upskilled to 10,000.

The program resulted in improving leads and sales for auto dealers with 32% improvement in lead generation efficiency reported by dealers. In addition, the program has directly impacted sales for leading auto OEMs across the country.

C S Vigneshwar, President, Federation of Automobile Dealers Associations (FADA) said, “At FADA, our vision is to empower dealers nationwide with the right digital tools and insights to stay ahead in a rapidly evolving market. Through our partnership with Meta, we’ve not only exceeded our commitment of upskilling 3,000 dealers—surpassing 6,000—but we’ve also seen a 3X increase in digitization and a marked 32% improvement in lead generation efficiency. This whitepaper underscores the potential of AI, Reels, and messaging platforms such as WhatsApp to strengthen customer relationships and drive growth. We look forward to scaling this collaboration further, bridging the digital gap in automotive retail, ensuring that dealers across India are future-ready, and remain agile in these dynamic times.”

Saugato Bhowmik, Director, Auto, CPG, and D2C for Meta in India said, “Our platforms and products are well positioned to enable rapid and efficient digital customer acquisition and engagement for auto dealers in a hyperlocal manner. Over the last two years we’ve upskilled nearly 10,000 dealers along with FADA to digitize their outreach and experiences through our unique hyperlocal solutions and key products ranging from Reels and AI to messaging. We’re thrilled to deepen our partnership with FADA and take on the ambitious target of upskilling 5000 more dealers in the next 2 years. This program has not only benefitted thousands of auto dealers but also proven to drive strong sales results for leading OEMs.”

Auto OEMs have reported strong sales and lead generation impact because of the program.

Virat Khullar, Group Head, Marketing, Hyundai Motor India Limited said “We’re excited to see outstanding business results through our partnership with Meta and OnlineSales on the Hyperlocal program. Together, we’ve developed a custom model that efficiently onboarded over 600 dealers in record time. In H2 '24, Meta’s hyperlocal program drove a remarkable 37% growth in sales compared to H1, while delivering 29% reduction in Cost per Retail.  As we move forward, we’re eager to scale this partnership further, leveraging cutting-edge AI and messaging solutions to unlock even greater opportunities.”

Manjari Upadhye, Chief Marketing Officer, Auto, Mahindra and Mahindra Limited said “Our partnership with Meta has helped amplify the impact of our passenger vehicle launches. Mahindra has leveraged the best and latest in technology to drive launch impact through Meta’s family of Apps. Some of the key activations include leveraging WhatsApp for Thar ROXX launch, using Partnership ads for driving consideration for XUV 700 (Intent went up +3.3 pts) and the Auto Industry’s first chat-based car configurator on Messenger and Instagram Direct for XUV 3XO, which saw 29% increase in conversation volumes. Our collaboration with Meta has driven significant impact, leading to bookings and sales, and setting new benchmarks in the industry.”