The online Hispanic population hit 20.3 million in February 2009, comprising 11 percent of the online market.  Previous data has shown that roughly half of Hispanic-American Internet users are Spanish-dominant.  To quote comScore “while English language content can and does reach a large number of Hispanic-Americans, to fully reach the Hispanic online user, marketers must also provide Spanish-language content.”

Two and a half years ago, seventeen OEM brand sites had Spanish versions.  As of October 2009, only nine do.  Domestic brands have largely abandoned their non-English version sites, reflecting industry turmoil, the winding down of some brands, and reduced spending in marketing and online.  In fact, Nielsen recently reported that automotive Spanish-language ad spend was down 40% over the prior year.


The non-English sites are generally faithful reproductions of the English versions, with the same interface, content, and tools.


A few language sites are stripped down version of the English sites.  For instance, Nissan’s Chinese site has four models and only basic vehicle information, e.g. brochure.

 
The basic value proposition for these non-English efforts is to reach the largest possible audience.  For brands with significant non-English-speaking buyer populations, a targeted language site helps them target important audiences with the kind of content they want in a form with which they are comfortable.  It’s unfortunate that some brands have found it necessary to abandon these efforts, especially those like Chevrolet with significant appeal to the Hispanic population, but as the industry recovers we may see a resurgence of such sites.