Which car brand spent the most on advertising in Australia in 2023?

The companies that spent the most on advertising in Australia last year have been revealed, with new data from insights company Nielsen showing only one car brand made the top 20.

Automotive giant Toyota ranked 14th on Nielsen Ad Intel's Top 20 Advertisers of 2023 list, just behind tech giant Apple in 13th place, but ahead of department store Myer in 15th spot.

According to a report from industry site Mi3, Australia's car companies spent a collective $661 million on advertising in 2023.

After Toyota, the other biggest spenders based on Nielsen data were Hyundai, Mitsubishi, Kia and Mazda – in that order.

However, the only other car-related company in the top 20 was ride-sharing and food delivery company Uber, which ranked 19th on the lift for its advertising spending.

Harvey Norman topped the list of Australia's biggest advertising spenders, while Woolworth's supermarkets placed second and fast food giant McDonald's placed third.

With its 'Oh what a feeling!' slogan, Toyota remains Australia's most popular car maker and led the country's sales race for the 21st year in a row in 2023.

RELATED: Australia's top-selling cars in 2023

However, Toyota's popular HiLux ute was dethroned as Australia's best-selling vehicle for the first time in seven years by its long-time rival, the Ford Ranger.

While a collective $661 million is no small spend, it pales in comparison to the amount a single-car brand will invest in advertising in markets like the United States, where the average cost of 30 seconds of ad break during this year's Super Bowl is reported to be $US7 million ($US10.6 million).

Despite initially saying it would abstain from airing a commercial during the 2024 NFL championship, Toyota reportedly backflipped on that decision in recent weeks and announced it was planning to air an ad for its Tacoma ute.

Three other car brands are currently confirmed to be airing commercials during this year's February 11 game, including BMW, Volkswagen and Kia.