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We analyzed over 5,400 emails from 240+ popular automotive e-commerce brands over three months and compared them with the previous quarter. This playbook highlights key trends in send times, frequency, subject lines, and CTAs to help you optimize your email campaigns.
This report is based on data collected from publicly available email campaigns sent by automotive ecommerce brands between April and June 2025 to random subscribers across 15+ email inboxes. While we strive for accuracy in our analysis, individual results may vary based on specific audience demographics, market conditions, and other factors. The strategies outlined in this report should be tested and adapted to your unique business needs. TargetBay is not affiliated with any of the brands mentioned in this report unless explicitly stated. All trademarks and brand names are the property of their respective owners.
We analyzed 5,488 emails from 243 automotive eCommerce brands across two quarters—1,167 emails from Q1 2025 and 4,321 emails from Q2 2025. This report uncovers how leading brands structure their email marketing: from send times, subject lines, and preview text to deliverability, CTAs, and content types. By comparing trends between Q1 and Q2, we highlight what’s working, what’s changing, and how your brand can adapt. Whether you’re looking to boost open rates, avoid spam folders, or create high-converting campaigns, this analysis offers clear, data-backed strategies to help you level up your automotive email marketing.
| Metric Studied | Q1 (2025) | Q2 (2025) |
|---|---|---|
| Number of Emails Studied | 1,167 | 4,321 |
| Number of Brands Studied | 64 | 179 |
| Average Emails Sent / Week / brand | 1.4 | 1.56 |
| Email Inbox Rate (%) | 0.26% | 2.36% |
| Promotion Placement Rate (%) | 93.63% | 81.90% |
| SPAM Rate (%) | 4.11% | 15.74% |
| Popular Email Send Time Segment | 6pm - 9pm | 6pm - 9pm |
| Most Common Email Type | Discount Emails | Discount Emails |
| Most Common Email CTA | Shop now (224) | Shop now (933) |
In Q2 2025, email timing strategies across automotive brands reveal a deliberate shift toward late-day engagement. Out of 179 brands, the majority favored evening hours, with 6PM–9PM emerging as the most popular window (823 emails), followed by 3PM–6PM (747 emails), and 12PM–3PM (652 emails). Together, these three time blocks accounted for over 60% of total sends in Q2.
Brands like Sky High Car Audio, Kemimoto, and My Plates dominated the 6PM–9PM slot—likely targeting working professionals checking personal emails after hours. Meanwhile, Grassroots Motorsports and CJ Pony Parts found success between 3PM–6PM, aligning with the post-lunch, pre-commute scroll window. On the other hand, Sling Mods capitalized heavily on 12PM–3PM sends (190 emails), catching shoppers during lunch breaks.
Compared to Q1, where email volume was more evenly distributed, Q2 shows a clear clustering around post-noon hours, signaling a strategy shift. Fewer brands are now experimenting with early morning or midnight drops, as open rates in those windows lag behind.
If your automotive brand serves a hobbyist or enthusiast audience, consider testing late-afternoon to early-evening campaigns. These time blocks align with when your audience is likely unwinding, browsing upgrades, or planning weekend mods—especially for high-involvement purchases. Match timing with your customer’s mindset for better open and click-through rates.
In Q2 2025, automotive brands demonstrated a consistent and focused approach to email frequency. On average, each brand sent 1.56 emails per week, slightly up from 1.4 in Q1, signaling increased marketing activity as summer auto events and outdoor travel seasons approached.
Saturday emerged as the top-performing day, with 982 emails sent—led by brands like 10SecondRacing, Kemimoto, and SkyHighCarAudio. These brands appear to be capitalizing on weekend browsing behavior, particularly from automotive enthusiasts planning DIY mods or shopping for upgrades during downtime.
Wednesday (694 emails) and Friday (619 emails) followed closely. Brands like Bestop, SlingMods, and CJ Pony Parts favored midweek drops—likely targeting shoppers early in the workweek decision cycle or catching payday anticipation. Notably, SlingMods had a strong, consistent presence across Monday through Friday, showing a high-frequency, full-week strategy to stay top of mind.
Compared to Q1, where no clear day preference dominated, Q2 shows distinct weekly rhythms—especially with the Saturday spike. This shift suggests brands are getting sharper at aligning campaigns with audience routines.
For brands in the automotive space, testing weekend campaigns—especially on Saturdays—could unlock higher engagement. Pair that with a midweek follow-up (e.g., Wednesday) to reinforce your offer or share content and stay ahead of the inbox competition.
Average inbox rate
Promotions Placement Rate
Average Spam Rate
Email deliverability in the Automotive industry saw a significant shift in Q2 2025. Inbox placement rose from just 0.26% in Q1 to 2.36% in Q2 — a nearly 9x improvement, indicating better list hygiene or more optimized sending practices from some brands.
At the same time, the Promotions tab dominance declined from 95.71% in Q1 to 81.90% in Q2, while Spam placement nearly quadrupled, increasing from 4.03% to 15.73%. This suggests that while some brands made gains, many others faced new deliverability issues — likely due to aggressive sending or poor engagement signals.
| Automotive Industry Email Deliverability Rates | |||
|---|---|---|---|
| Email Deliverability | Q1 (%) | Q2 (%) | % Change (Q2 vs Q1) |
| Inbox Rate | 0.26% | 2.36% | 2.10% |
| Promotions Rate | 95.63% | 81.90% | -13.73% |
| Spam Rate | 4.11% | 15.74% | 11.63% |
Brands with the highest inbox placements in Q2 include:
✔️ Baja Designs (@bestop.com) – 25 inboxed emails
✔️ Garagistic – 23 inboxed emails
✔️ Agile Offroad – 13 inboxed emails
✔️ TouchUpDirect and JC Whitney also showed strong inbox visibility.
High spam rates pose a serious threat to sender reputation and future deliverability. Promotions tab placements, while not harmful, limit visibility for time-sensitive offers.
To optimize deliverability, automotive brands should:
✔️ Warm up domains and maintain clean subscriber lists
✔️ Avoid spam-triggering language in subject lines
✔️ Monitor engagement closely (opens, clicks, unsubscribes)
✔️ Personalize and segment email content
✔️ Spread sends across different days/times to test for inbox-friendly windows
The key change in Q2 is that a few brands cracked the inbox, but many others traded Promotions visibility for the Spam folder.
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In Q2 2025, the most common subject line tactic among automotive brands was discount-based messaging, used in 28.7% of all emails. This is slightly down from 29.1% in Q1, showing continued reliance on deals but a marginal pivot toward more emotional or visual hooks.
The use of emojis increased significantly in Q2, jumping from 18.4% to 25.6%, signaling a stronger push for inbox visibility through visual elements. On the other hand, personalization dropped from 26.8% in Q1 to 21.3% in Q2, suggesting fewer brands are tailoring content with words like “you,” “your,” or “just for you.”
Mentions of specific products (like “LED,” “brake,” “gear,” or “truck”) also fell sharply in Q2—from 21.8% down to 11.8%—potentially due to broader promotional messages and seasonal campaigns.
| Brand Name | Best Automotive Email Marketing Subject Lines |
|---|---|
| Pep Boys | Save $50 Off Your Next Oil Change + MORE ✅ |
| Pep Boys | Claim Your $100 Off Brake Service Now! More Inside ✅ |
| Pep Boys | Get Your Car Ready for Spring: Check Off These Essentials & Save Big Today ✅ |
| 3D Products | Keep your wheels looking their best ✨ |
| Pep Boys | Kick Off Summer with a FREE 4th Cooper Tire + More Deals! 😎 |
| American Muscle | LIMITED TIME ⚠️ Up to 50% Off Coupons for your Mustang! |
| Adam's Polishes | Spring Washing Sale - Choose Your Shampoo & Tire Finish |
| Kemimoto | Thank You! Enjoy 16% Off Sitewide for Our 13th Anniversary 🎉 |
| Diesel Power Source | Unlock $100 Off Your Stocker Compound Kit Now! |
| Stinger Solutions | Up to $200 OFF your new Infotainment Radio 🔊 |
| Pelican Parts | Up to 70% OFF 300+ Schwaben Tools to Tackle Your Builds |
| SlingMods | ⏳ Last Chance to Protect Your Wheels – 10% OFF AlloyGator Rim Guards! |
| American Muscle | 🇺🇸 Memorial Day Discounts Up to 50% Off Ending Soon! Save big for your Mustang! |
| 1A Auto | 🔥 Mega Sale | Exclusively For You |
| 1A Auto | 😎 You’re Getting Up to 50% Off Today |
| Stinger Solutions | $100 OFF the Epic Bundle 🔧 |
| Element Wheels | $100 Off the Wheel That’s Turning Heads |
| Parts Geek | (Deal Of The Day) Save While You Still Can |
| Parts Geek | (Last Chance) Save While You Still Can |
| Parts Geek | (Right Now) Save Hundreds Off Your Next Repair |
Among emails that landed in the spam folder in Q2, subject lines frequently used spam-triggering terms like:
❌ “Free” (31 times)
❌ “Offer” (9 times)
❌ “Deal” (8 times)
❌ “Cash” (5 times)
❌ “Limited time” (4 times)
Interestingly, even though terms like “Free” appeared 128 times in inbox/promotions emails as well, their repeated appearance in spam may be due to aggressive sending patterns or weak sender reputation, rather than the keyword alone.
To optimize deliverability, brands should reduce overuse of spammy language in subject lines, avoid all-caps or excessive punctuation, and test alternatives that use curiosity, personalization, or benefit-driven language. Brands like Baja Designs and Garagistic, who had higher inbox rates, used cleaner subject lines without aggressive sales lingo.
Q2 showed a shift toward emojis and less personalization—while overly salesy subject lines correlated with higher spam placement.
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In Q2 2025, 98.8% of automotive emails included preview text — a slight increase from 98.5% in Q1. This near-universal adoption shows that brands in this industry clearly understand the importance of optimizing the “second subject line” for open rates.
Q2 preview texts leaned into urgency, offers, and product specificity. For example:
“Every $1 spent = 150 Entries until Midnight Tonight” from HRS complemented a subject line about flash sales.
“We have all the Duramax parts you need! 🔥” reinforced inventory scarcity, boosting FOMO.
Brands like BF Goodrich, Detail Spray, and K&N Filters also used stacked emojis and teaser-style previews (“+2” Forward & Rear Stretched A-Arms drop @ 8PM”) to amplify curiosity.
| Preview Text Strategy | Usage in Q2 2025 |
|---|---|
| Promotional | 22.71% |
| Other | 75.34% |
| Educational | 1.51% |
| Relationship | 0.44% |
In Q1, the strategy skewed more toward informational previews. Brands like Grassroots Motorsports and Classic Industries focused on clarity: “Free Ground Shipping on Orders Over $299” or “View Your Digital Catalog Today.” While informative, these previews lacked urgency or emotional hooks — potentially limiting open rates despite clean deliverability.
What’s changed in Q2? More brands layered emotional payoff and urgency into the preview text while aligning closely with subject lines, creating a consistent message funnel. However, a few still used placeholder filler or symbols which can signal bulkiness to spam filters.
Q2 preview texts were sharper, more strategic, and aligned for impact. Brands balancing urgency and clarity — like HRS and Garagistic — saw higher inbox placement without triggering spam filters.
In Q2 2025, “Other Engagement” emails made up the largest share of all email types at 38.84%, up from 36.62% in Q1. These include emails that build brand affinity, create urgency, educate the buyer, or align with seasonal moments. For example, 4RunnerLifestyle sent campaigns like “Murder Out Your 4Runner’s Rear End” with preview text focused on installation simplicity—blending product relevance with problem-solving.
Discount-heavy campaigns were also prominent, increasing slightly from 33.36% to 35.35%. Brands like PepBoys and Kemimoto led with subject lines like “April Deals are HERE! 💥”, leveraging urgency and price-focused messaging to drive quick conversions.
Discount
Promotional
Personalized
Others
Personalized emails declined to 15.66% in Q2 from 18.52% in Q1, showing fewer brands using dynamic or customer-focused language like “Your order is waiting” or “Please confirm your details.” Though personalization is proven to boost opens, its drop suggests many brands are defaulting to broad campaigns.
Promotional emails that weren’t discount-driven, such as new arrivals or launches, fell slightly to 10.16%. Example: “NEW! Rear Storage Game Changer” from 4RunnerLifestyle—a direct call to action on new product drops.
The “Other Engagement” category includes:
Engagement emails are rising because they provide value beyond promotions. For automotive brands, mixing utility with emotion helps build loyalty and inbox presence.
In Q2, CTAs leaned heavily on urgency-based language, accounting for 24.39% of all CTAs—up from 21.53% in Q1. Phrases like “Shop Now,” “Hurry,” and “Buy Today” dominated campaigns from brands like PepBoys and 4RunnerLifestyle, likely aiming to prompt quick decisions for time-sensitive offers.
However, simple CTAs such as “Shop,” “View Product,” or “Explore” dropped to 14.94% in Q2 from 26.84% in Q1. While still effective for brand consistency, these may lack urgency or relevance in a crowded inbox environment. Brands appear to be prioritizing clicks with stronger verbs and emotional cues.
Discount-based CTAs like “Save Now” or “Get 20% Off” slightly declined (from 5.49% to 3.05%), suggesting that brands are embedding the discount messaging more in subject lines than in the CTA button. Similarly, personalized CTAs (e.g., “View Your Picks”) dropped to just 1.26% in Q2—highlighting a missed opportunity to increase relevance.
Notably, 56.36% of CTAs in Q2 fell under the “Other” category, often due to missing buttons, vague copy, or generic phrases like “Learn More.” This is a jump from 43.57% in Q1, indicating under-optimization.
For better click-throughs without triggering spam filters, automotive brands should combine urgency with clarity. “Shop Now” remains effective, but pairing it with a specific benefit or urgency (e.g., “Shop Now — Limited Offer”) can increase engagement without hurting deliverability.
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The Automotive industry saw notable shifts in email marketing performance in Q2 2025. Here are the key trends based on a full analysis of 4,321 emails compared to 1,166 in Q1.
Inbox Placement Improved: Q2 inbox placement jumped to 2.36%, nearly 9x higher than Q1’s 0.26%. Brands like Baja Designs and Garagistic led this improvement through cleaner subject lines and better timing.
In Q1, inbox rates were severely limited, with 95% of emails landing in Promotions.
Email Volume Spiked: Brands sent 18.5 emails per brand on average in Q2, up from 16 emails in Q1.
This indicates more aggressive outreach—especially from brands like Sling Mods (216 sends) and 10 Second Racing (171 sends).
Subject Lines Got More Visual: Emoji usage increased to 25.6% in Q2 from 18.4% in Q1, while personalization declined from 26.8% to 21.3%.
Discount-driven subject lines stayed consistent (~29%).
Preview Texts Aligned Better: 98.8% of Q2 emails had preview text, with more urgency and alignment with the subject line compared to Q1’s more informational tone.
Q2 2025 saw a sharp rise in email activity across the Automotive industry, with total emails increasing from 1,166 in Q1 to 4,321 in Q2. Average emails per brand rose from 16 to 18.5, with brands like SlingMods and CJ Pony Parts among the most active. Inbox placement improved from 0.26% to 2.36%, driven by better preview alignment and reduced use of spammy subject line language. However, the spam rate also surged from 4% to 15.7%, signaling that while some brands improved, others adopted high-volume tactics without optimizing for deliverability.
➤ Brands like Kemimoto and Sky High Car Audio are already taking advantage of this timing.
➤ Over 27% of Q2 emails were sent on Saturdays, likely reaching hobbyists and DIYers during downtime.
➤ Inbox rates rose to 2.8% in Q2 with zero spam for some brands like Muskegon Brake.
➤ Avoid leaving it blank or filled with code. Q2 saw more promotional previews used effectively.
➤ These made up 38.84% of Q2 emails and can build longer-term trust.
➤ Over half of Q2 CTAs were still too vague.
➤ That’s your chance to stand out with “Your custom picks” or “Built for your ride.”
Begin by analyzing your current email metrics against the benchmarks in this report. Identify gaps in your strategy and prioritize areas for improvement based on potential impact.
Create a structured testing plan to experiment with different send times, subject line formulas, and CTA strategies. Document results and iterate based on performance data.
Implement more granular audience segmentation based on purchase behavior, engagement level, and product preferences to deliver more relevant content to each subscriber.
With over 60% of automotive brands marketing emails opened on mobile devices, ensure your templates are fully responsive and CTAs are easily “tappable” on smaller screens.
Thousands of templates in one place.
The automotive products industry is becoming increasingly competitive in the inbox—where timing, relevance, and deliverability matter more than ever. Our Q2 2025 analysis shows that brands optimizing for inbox placement, engaging content, and late-day sends are leading the race. Success isn’t just about blasting discounts; it’s about sending the right message at the right time to the right audience.
Compared to Q1, we saw improvements in inbox rates, stronger use of urgency in CTAs, and a growing preference for weekend and evening sends. Yet, opportunities remain—especially around personalization and optimizing preview text and CTAs.
We hope these insights help you refine your email marketing strategy and drive measurable impact. If you’re looking to implement these findings and outperform your competition, the email marketing experts at TargetBay are here to help—reach out for tailored guidance and strategy.
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