Sponsorship Sector Report - Automotive - APAC 2026
Summary
Automotive brands spent a record $359.5m on sponsorship of Asia-Pacific (APAC) sport in 2025, up 64.7% on 2020, across 382 active deals and 274 brands. This report uses the analyst Sport Intelligence Center deal data for 2020-2025 to show where automotive sponsorship value sits in APAC: by deal market, brand HQ, sub-industry, sport, property type, partnership status and deal length. It profiles the leading brands, including Tata Motors, Toyota, Kia, Nissan and BKT, tracks the rise of tire brands and Chinese EV makers, and sets out strategic considerations for brands and rights holders, along with what to watch in 2026.Automotive brands spent a record $359.5m on APAC sport sponsorship in 2025, up 8.3% on 2024 and 64.7% on 2020 (a 10.5% CAGR). Deal volume more than doubled over the same period, from 188 to 382, and the number of active brands rose from 117 to 274. APAC accounts for 13.8% of the $2.6bn that automotive brands spent on sport sponsorship worldwide in 2025, making automotive the seventh-largest sponsor sector globally.
Value is concentrating in Indian cricket and big-ticket rights. Cricket took 34.2% of 2025 value ($122.9m), up from 12.7% in 2020, and accounts for 67.4% of the $141.2m rise in market value since 2020. Just 11 deals worth $5m or more delivered 46.3% of 2025 value, led by Tata Motors' IPL title sponsorship at $60.2m a year (16.7% of the total). Title rights are 9.2% of deals but 44.1% of value.
At the other end of the market, a long tail of small deals keeps growing. The median deal fell from $0.4m in 2020 to $0.2m in 2025, 66.0% of deals are now under $0.5m, and deals of $0.1m or less grew from 25 to 136 as dealer-level, local and digital packages lowered the cost of entry.
India-HQ brands have tripled their spend since 2020 ($39.9m to $132.0m), led by Tata Motors, Apollo Tyres, CEAT and BKT, almost all of it in cricket. Tire brands are the fastest-growing sub-industry, with spend up 3.6x to $64.1m. China-HQ brands rose from six to 24, but their value halved to $12.4m as EV makers test small packages.
Renewals now carry 73.8% of value, so every renewal is a performance review. Brands need a clear role for each tier of deal, while rights holders should price scarce premium inventory accordingly and build entry-level packages that can scale.
Key Highlights
- Automotive brands spent a record $359.5m on APAC sport sponsorship in 2025, up 64.7% on 2020, across 382 deals and 274 brands.
- Cricket took 34.2% of 2025 value ($122.9m), up from 12.7% in 2020, and accounts for 67.4% of the market's growth since 2020.
- 11 deals of $5m or more delivered 46.3% of 2025 value; Tata Motors' IPL title deal alone is worth $60.2m a year.
- The median deal fell from $0.4m in 2020 to $0.2m in 2025, as deals of $0.1m or less grew from 25 to 136.
- India-HQ brand spend rose 3.3x since 2020 to $132.0m, and tire-brand spend rose 3.6x to $64.1m.
- China-HQ brands rose from six to 24 in 2025, but their combined value halved to $12.4m.
- Renewals carried 73.8% of 2025 value ($265.1m), up from 63.8% in 2020.
Scope
- Analysis of 1,959 deal-years active in 2020-2025 in which an automotive brand (carmaker, tire, motorcycle, parts and aftermarket, dealership or other automotive) sponsors a sports property in APAC.
- Key metrics for 2025: total annual value, active deals, average and median deal value, active brands and value from renewals.
- Market insights: value and deal growth, deal-size bands, partnership type (new, renewal, confirmed), property type, deal market and brand HQ country.
- Sector analysis: spend by automotive sub-industry, the ten largest deals, recorded deal length and partnership status (title, shirt, main sponsor and other roles).
- Sport analysis: value vs volume, share of value, five-year CAGR and average deal value by sport, plus a case study on automotive sponsorship of cricket in India.
- Brand analysis: top 12 brands, five-year trajectories for Tata Motors, Toyota, Kia, Nissan and BKT, brand CAGR, China-HQ brands, entering and exiting brands, and case studies on Audi, BKT, BMW, Kia and Nissan.
- Conclusions and outlook: strategic considerations for brands and rights holders and what to watch in 2026.
- Glossary, methodology and references.
Reasons to Buy
- Size the APAC automotive sport sponsorship market and understand how value and deal volume have changed from 2020 to 2025.
- Benchmark spend, deal counts and average deal values by market, brand HQ, sub-industry, sport, property type, partnership status and deal length.
- Identify which brands are scaling up, which are pulling back and how leading sponsors such as Tata Motors, Toyota, Kia, Nissan and BKT build their portfolios.
- Understand why Indian cricket, tire brands and Chinese EV makers are reshaping the market, and what this means for rights pricing.
- Use the strategic considerations for buyers and sellers to plan new partnerships, renewals and sponsorship packages.
- Anticipate the trends likely to shape automotive sponsorship in APAC in 2026.
Table of Contents
- How to read this report (p. 2)
01 Key information (p. 3)
02 Market insights (p. 8)
03 Sector analysis (p. 15)
04 Sport analysis (p. 20)
05 Brand analysis (p. 26)
06 Conclusions & outlook (p. 37)
List of Tables
List of Figures
Companies Mentioned (Partial List)
A selection of companies mentioned in this report includes, but is not limited to:
- Tata Motors
- Toyota
- Kia
- Nissan
- BKT
- Apollo Tyres
- CEAT
- Continental
- Toyo Tires
- Pirelli
- Audi
- BMW
- Mercedes-Benz
- Lexus
- Honda
- Hyundai
- Genesis
- Hero MotoCorp
- Yamaha
- Jayco
- Repco
- SAIC Motor
- Roewe
- BYD
- Geely
- Li Auto
- Voyah
- Zeekr
- Xpeng
- AITO
