- Overview of automotive communication in Vietnam and major communication challenges facing the industry
In recent years, topics related to the automotive sector have attracted strong attention on digital platforms such as Facebook, TikTok, YouTube, and forums. In fact, 92% of consumers tend to proactively seek information online before making a purchase decision, through videos, reviews, and social channels.
Survey on the sources of customer data used to research brand information before making a purchase.
Source: Novaon Digital
However, most automotive brands in Vietnam have yet to fully leverage digital platforms. According to a survey by InsightAsia, nearly 70% of brands were rated below 80% in terms of digital visibility effectiveness – a figure that highlights the significant gap between consumer behavior and the industry’s current communication capabilities
Survey on customer evaluations of automotive electronics brands.
Source: Novaon Digital
In addition, the industry is also facing the problem of malicious media – when false information and baseless rumors are widely spread, causing serious damage to brand reputation. One of the hottest recent communication crises was when 37 Chinese influencers posted videos and articles slandering BYD, accusing the company of media manipulation, poor vehicle quality, and potential bankruptcy. This caused severe harm to BYD’s image and market trust. Although BYD quickly refuted these groundless rumors, the widespread misinformation still caused confusion among BYD customers and seriously threatened its market share, impacting millions of yuan within just a few days.
This media crisis serves as a warning about the fragility of a company’s image if it does not have a clear and proactive digital communication strategy.
Thus, the question is: How can automotive companies enhance brand awareness, boost sales, and effectively control their brand image in the face of third-party misinformation?
2. Video Marketing – An effective communication solution to strengthen brand positioning and drive sales in the automotive industry today
Under increasing competitive and communication pressures, video marketing is becoming an effective tool for automotive brands to enhance visibility, build a trustworthy image, and drive conversions on digital platforms.
In a context where most consumers begin their car-buying journey by searching for information online, investing in videos such as test drive experiences, feature introductions, real-life reviews, or user guides has become an essential part of communication strategies.
A report by Vidico indicates that video can double purchase likelihood, increase conversion rates by up to 68%, and is particularly effective in controlling brand messaging, especially when facing communication crises.
Therefore, instead of focusing solely on short-term advertising, automotive businesses should consider video as a long-term investment, helping the brand stand out and remain resilient in the digital communication era.
3. Highlighting four prominent video marketing trends in 2025 for the automotive industry
Trend 1: Short-form Video
Short-form videos (under 90 seconds) are becoming the top choice to create natural connections and enhance engagement between brands and consumers. These are approachable, everyday contents – such as tutorial videos by staff, small operational tips, behind-the-scenes assembly footage, or real-life experiences with the product. This format leverages authenticity to build trust, closeness, and stimulate community sharing.
According to Wyzowl, 73% of consumers watch short videos before making a purchase, while 31% of marketers report their highest ROI comes from short videos. Vidico also points out that short-form videos can boost sales by up to 80% due to their ability to capture customer attention and encourage sharing, thereby enhancing brand visibility.
A successful case study applying short-form video in communication
Source: Novaon Digital
Recognizing the benefits of this trend, Toyota partnered with Novaon Digital to launch short-form videos on TikTok, featuring car reviews, automotive trends, and creative mini-games. These videos attracted significant attention from customers, especially young people, and helped Toyota gain over 200,000 followers in a short period of time.
Trend 2: iTVC (Internet TVC)
In contrast to short-form videos, which focus on engagement and entertainment, iTVC (Internet TVC) are short advertisements lasting 15–30 seconds, professionally produced in terms of visuals, audio, and messaging, to deliver information concisely yet impressively. iTVCs are often used in large-scale product promotion campaigns, new car launches, promotional communications, or brand image building.
Unlike short-form videos that emphasize interaction, iTVCs aim to generate quick awareness, reach mass audiences, and position the brand professionally. According to Meta, videos under 30 seconds have a 2.5 times higher completion rate than longer videos. Brands like Honda, Peugeot, and BYD have used iTVCs on Facebook Reels, TikTok Ads, and YouTube Shorts, attracting millions of views within just a few days.
Among these, Mazda’s iTVC for Lunar New Year 2025 stood out as an impressive video that effectively showcased product features and clearly positioned the brand, achieving over 50,000 views in just four months.
Overall, iTVC is an ideal tool to accelerate market reach, deliver clear messaging, and maintain highly consistent brand imagery – making it suitable for official promotions and large-scale campaigns.
Trend 3: AI Video
In a context where automotive companies need to both save budget and accelerate communication, AI video has become the ideal solution to achieve both goals simultaneously. Within just a few hours, businesses can create a series of product introduction videos, virtual showroom simulations, or feature demonstrations without traditional filming and editing, helping reduce production costs by up to 80%. The standout strength of AI video is its ability to personalize by language, region, customer behavior, and stage in the buying journey, ensuring content reaches the right audience at the right time.
According to HubSpot, 91% of marketers have reported a significant ROI increase when using AI videos. Brands like BMW, Audi, and BYD are adopting this technology to produce tutorial videos, introduce new features, and train dealers – all with consistency, speed, and scalability. AI video is particularly suitable in scenarios such as new car launches, creating 360° videos for virtual showrooms, demonstrating autonomous driving technology, or presenting features through short interactive clips.
For CEOs and communication professionals in the automotive industry, this is a tool to speed up campaign execution, optimize marketing costs, and reach global customers with just a few lines of descriptions and input images.
Trend 4: Mega Livestream
With the goal of enhancing live experiences and shortening the distance between brands and car buyers, livestreams – especially multi-platform mega livestreams – are becoming a strategic tool for the automotive industry. Without visiting the showroom, customers can still view detailed interiors and exteriors, operational technologies, and interact instantly with experts or consultants in real time. This solution optimizes event organization costs while creating a personalized connection, increasing trust in the brand.
According to McKinsey, livestreaming can increase engagement rates by 48% and conversion rates by 20% when deployed during car launch phases. Brands such as Mercedes-Benz, Hyundai, and VinFast have leveraged this format to attract hundreds of thousands of views, turning each broadcast into a large-scale communication campaign.
In the automotive industry, livestreaming can be flexibly applied to new car introductions, special technology demonstrations, live Q&A sessions, remote test drive livestreams, or launch events in the form of interactive talk shows.
A successful case study applying livestream in car promotion
Source: Novaon Digital
One notable case study is the campaign between Skoda and Novaon Digital, which combined livestreaming with a Virtual Showroom to launch their two SUV models, Karoq and Kodiaq. Thanks to its well-executed implementation, the campaign attracted over 2 million reaches, 10 million impressions, and increased test drive registrations by 23%.
4. Conclusion
Amidst rapid changes in consumer behavior and the pressure to optimize communication costs in the automotive industry, video marketing is becoming an essential solution for brands to create emotional connections with customers while driving effective conversions. From short-form videos that boost engagement, iTVCs for professional promotion, to AI videos and personalized livestreams – video has become an indispensable strategic tool in the automotive industry’s digital marketing journey.
Source: Brandsvietnam
