Quick answer. Dealerships and automakers use RCS for service reminders, recall notifications, vehicle-status and pickup alerts, test-drive follow-ups, and new-model showcases — with how-to videos, high-resolution vehicle imagery, and one-tap scheduling. It reaches owners and leads in the inbox without competing for an app install. Vendor data from an automotive-focused RCS provider reports over 3x engagement and roughly 30% higher conversion versus SMS, reflecting how well rich, interactive automotive messages perform.
Top use cases
- Service reminders — "your vehicle is due for its 30k service" with a how-to video, current offers, and a one-tap "Book service" button.
- Recall notifications — targeted, branded recall alerts with clear instructions and an interactive scheduler to book the free fix — improving completion of safety-critical work.
- Vehicle & sales alerts — "your car is ready" with itemized cost and a pay/pickup button, plus test-drive follow-ups and new-model carousels for leads.
In practice
A dealership sends a service reminder with a short how-to video and a Book service button, follows up after a test drive with a build-and-price card, and pushes recall notices with one-tap scheduling. Because the message is branded and interactive, owners engage rather than ignore it. An automotive RCS provider reports 3x engagement and ~30% higher conversion vs SMS (vendor-reported).
Key facts & results
- Automotive RCS: ~3x engagement and ~30% higher conversion vs SMS (Vibes, vendor-reported).
- High-impact use cases: service reminders with video, recall scheduling, and "vehicle ready" pay/pickup alerts.
- BodemerAuto, a 35-dealership French Renault/Dacia group, ran an RCS carousel campaign that produced roughly a 17x higher click-through rate than the same offer over plain SMS (~7.7% CTR vs ~0.45%; Google RCS Business Messaging case study with Digitaleo and Infobip — vendor-reported).