The newsroom at 1155 Gratiot Avenue in Detroit runs on beats. Automotive News, the Crain Communications trade paper that has covered the car business since 1925, lists its reporters on its contact page the way an automaker lists its brands: one reporter for Ford and the UAW, one for Toyota and Subaru, one for Hyundai, Kia and Genesis, one for EVs including Tesla, Lucid, Rivian and VinFast, and so on through dealers, retail and suppliers. That structure is the most useful thing anyone trying to work out how to get featured in Automotive News can study, because it tells you exactly who is waiting for your kind of news.
It also explains why so many pitches fail. A supplier sends a release to a general inbox, or to the most senior name on the masthead, and it never reaches the reporter whose job is to care. Pick the right beat and write for its reader, and the odds change.
Know which newsroom you’re pitching
Automotive News is a business publication. Its readers are dealers, automaker executives, supplier managers, analysts, investors and the vendors who serve them. They read it to understand how the industry makes money and where that is changing. That is a different readership from enthusiast magazines and consumer car sites, which review vehicles for buyers.
The newsroom reflects that. Senior editors manage content and operations. An automaker team, led by a team leader, covers the manufacturers. Reporters cover specific companies, the UAW, electric vehicles, dealers, retail, finance and suppliers. There is a Research and Data Center with its own data researchers, an audio team that produces podcasts, a social team, and Automotive News Europe, with its own editors covering the European industry.
The contact page lists all of this with names and email addresses, and it changes as people move. Check it on the day you pitch. If your news is about European operations, Automotive News Europe is the right desk, not Detroit. If your news is a data story, the data team may be interested as well as the beat reporter.
Every pitch should answer the question an industry reader would ask: what does this mean for how cars are built, sold, financed or serviced? If the answer is only “it means our product is good,” the story belongs in an ad or a consumer outlet.
Map your story to a beat
We use a simple tool for auto industry pitching that we call the Beat Map. Before writing anything, place your news in one of five boxes, then find the reporter who owns that box.
The automaker box covers anything about a manufacturer: product plans, plant investments, executive changes, sales results, strategy. If you are a supplier or vendor with news tied to a specific automaker, such as a new contract or a program launch, the reporter covering that automaker is often the right first contact. Be careful about what you can say publicly, since automakers often restrict supplier announcements.
The electrification box covers EVs, batteries, charging, EV-focused startups and policy that affects them. The reporter on this beat writes about Tesla, Lucid, Rivian and newer companies, and about how legacy automakers are adjusting. Charging companies, battery suppliers and EV software firms usually belong here.
The dealer and retail box covers how cars are sold: dealer groups, acquisitions, store formats, digital retail, F&I, service and parts, and the relationship between dealers and manufacturers. Dealer group executives, retail technology vendors and franchise law experts pitch here.
The supplier and manufacturing box covers parts makers, tier one and tier two suppliers, plant operations, labor, tariffs and supply chains. If your news is about production, sourcing or a supplier’s results, this is your box.
The finance and policy box covers auto lending, leasing, insurance, regulation, emissions rules and trade policy. Lenders, analysts, trade groups and law firms often fit here.
Once you know your box, read the last five stories by that reporter. Note what they treat as news, what sources they quote and what numbers they use. Then write your pitch to fit their pattern.
What counts as news to a dealer, or an automaker
Automotive News readers respond to five kinds of stories, and most successful pitches fit one of them.
The first is the deal. Acquisitions of dealerships and dealer groups, supplier contracts, mergers, plant investments and partnerships between companies all get covered, especially when they come with numbers. Dealership buy-sell activity is a steady topic, and a group that acquires several stores, enters a new market or adds a brand can earn coverage if it shares terms or context.
The second is the result. Sales numbers, earnings, market share changes, service revenue and other measurable outcomes. Public companies get covered at earnings time. Private dealer groups and suppliers can earn coverage by sharing figures they would normally keep private, especially when those figures say something about the market, such as how EV sales are trending at a group of stores or how service revenue changed after a new scheduling system.
The third is the change in how the business works. New retail formats, digital sales tools, agency sales models, subscription programs, changes to franchise agreements, labor contracts and plant schedules. These stories matter to readers because they might have to adapt. If your company is changing how it operates, and you can show results, it is a candidate.
The fourth is the conflict. Disputes between dealers and manufacturers, franchise law fights, recalls, regulatory battles and labor negotiations. These are often stories companies would rather avoid, but they are also stories where a clear, honest spokesperson can shape coverage. A company that explains its position on the record usually fares better than one that declines to comment.
The fifth is the expert view. Reporters writing about a trend need people who understand it and will say something useful. Dealer principals with a clear point of view, analysts with data and executives willing to talk about challenges as well as wins become regular sources. Offer yourself on topics where you have genuine depth.
Data, podcasts and the side doors
The Research and Data Center is one of the publication’s distinctive assets. If your company has proprietary data on the industry, such as transaction prices, inventory levels, service visits or consumer behavior, offering it to the data team or a beat reporter as the basis for a story can earn coverage that a product announcement never would. Be ready to explain your methodology and sample.
The audio team produces podcasts, including daily news programming. Executives who speak clearly about industry topics can be good guests. Pitch the producer with a specific topic, a reason it matters now, and a sense of what the guest would say.
Letters to the editor are another route. The publication invites readers to submit letters about stories, and it may publish them in print. A short, specific letter responding to a recent story, written by an executive with relevant experience, can put a name and argument in front of the industry quickly.
Events are a fourth route. Automotive News runs conferences and award programs. Speaking at them, or being recognized in them, can lead to coverage and relationships with the editors who run them.
Do not overlook the regional and international editions. Automotive News Europe has its own editors and covers news relevant to European readers. If your company operates in Europe, pitch them separately with a European angle.
Mistakes that keep companies out
The most common mistake is pitching a consumer story to a trade reporter. A new trim level’s features, a dealership’s holiday sale or a vendor’s product brochure are not Automotive News stories unless they reveal something about the business. Ask what an executive at a competing company would learn from the story. If the answer is nothing, rethink the angle.
The second mistake is hiding the number. Automotive News readers live on figures: units, dollars, margins, days of supply, share points. A pitch that says a dealer group “grew significantly” invites a polite pass. One that says service revenue rose 18% after the group added Saturday hours gives a reporter something to verify and write.
The third is going around the reporter. Sending the same pitch to the beat reporter, their editor and the editor in chief at once tells the newsroom you did not trust the first person to judge it. Pitch the beat. If it is a fit, the reporter will bring in their editor.
The fourth is ignoring the automaker’s rules. Suppliers in particular often cannot name customers or programs without approval. Announcing a contract the automaker has not cleared can damage the business relationship far more than the coverage helps. Get sign-off first, and tell the reporter if certain details are off the record.
The fifth is disappearing when the news is bad. Companies that only talk when things go well tend to get one-sided coverage when things go badly. Knowing how to get featured in Automotive News includes knowing how to show up for the hard story too.
A pitch that works
Keep the email short. A subject line that names the company, the news and the number tells the reporter whether to open it. “Midwest dealer group buys 6 stores, enters Texas” works. “Exciting expansion news” does not.
Open with the news in the first sentence. Follow with the context that makes it matter to the reporter’s beat: what it says about the market, how it compares with competitors, what changes as a result. Include at least one number. Offer a named executive for an interview and a time window. Link to images and supporting documents.
Send it to one reporter, the one whose beat matches. If the news spans beats, pick the primary one and mention in your note that it also touches another area. Do not copy the entire masthead.
Respect embargoes and timing. Automotive News publishes news continuously online and in print. If you can offer a short head start on significant news, such as an acquisition before the public announcement, that can make a difference. If you set an embargo, keep it, and do not offer exclusives you cannot honor.
Follow up once if you have not heard back and the news is still timely. If the reporter passes, accept it gracefully and ask whether they would like to hear about future news on that beat.
Over time, the best approach to how to get featured in Automotive News is to become a source the newsroom trusts. Answer calls, share real numbers, explain bad news as clearly as good, and pitch only stories that fit the reader. Reporters remember the people who helped them file a strong story on deadline. They also remember who wasted their time.
If you are starting from zero, start with the Beat Map. Place your next piece of news in a box, find the reporter, read their last five stories and write a pitch that sounds like it belongs next to them. That single habit does more for your chances of appearing in Automotive News than any distribution service.