Caliber, a stakeholder intelligence company helping brands build trust, today announces the launch of its latest industry report, Stuck In Neutral: The Reputation of the Global Automotive Sector.
This comprehensive study offers an in-depth analysis of how stakeholder perceptions of the automotive industry are evolving across key markets, revealing critical trends, challenges, and opportunities for automakers worldwide.
Drawing on three years of proprietary research and real-time data from Caliber’s stakeholder tracking platform, the report provides a unique snapshot of the sector at a pivotal moment.
It explores the forces shaping the industry’s reputation, including technological innovation, shifting consumer preferences, regulatory changes, and mounting economic pressures such as the ongoing global trade war.
Key Findings from the Report include:
- The automotive sector’s Trust & Like Score (TLS) — Caliber’s chief metric for brand and reputation — has declined to 66/100 over the past year, marking an “Average” rating and the lowest among consumer-facing sectors tracked by Caliber.
- Brand loyalty is strengthening, with only 10% of respondents unlikely to buy from the same carmaker — down from 14% in 2023. However, trust in certain manufacturers, especially in the US and Europe, continues to decline.
- Enthusiasm for electric vehicles (EVs) is cooling, with “likely” or “very likely” purchase intentions dropping from 40% to 36% since 2023. Cost, battery life, and charging infrastructure remain significant barriers to adoption.
The report also addresses the impact of political issues, such as trade tariffs and high-profile controversies, on stakeholder perceptions, and offers actionable recommendations for automakers to regain consumer confidence.
These include prioritizing safety and quality, addressing practical barriers to EV adoption, and focusing on long-term cost savings rather than solely environmental benefits.
“Today’s automotive sector is at a crossroads — facing both strengthening brand loyalty and intensifying competition, but also declining trust and waning enthusiasm for EVs,” said Caliber CEO Shahar Silbershatz. “Our report provides industry leaders with the insights needed to navigate these contradictions and drive positive change.”Shahar Silbershatz, CEO & Co-Founder of Caliber
About Caliber
Caliber is a stakeholder intelligence company that provides businesses with actionable intelligence that helps them understand their audience, communicate more effectively, and build trust. Caliber created the world’s only real-time, customizable platform that tracks stakeholder perceptions. This empowers brands to harness the full potential of their reputation and fully embody and communicate their values. To learn more, visit our website.
About Caliber’s Trust & Like Score
The Trust & Like Score is a metric developed by Caliber that measures a company’s reputation and brand strength. Companies can use this information to better understand their stakeholders and improve communications and stakeholder relations.
Caliber uses the Trust & Like Score as its chief metric because research shows that stakeholder behavior is closely linked to the degree to which people trust and like a company.
The Score is calculated by averaging responses to two sentences: “[Company] is a company I like” and “[Company] is a company I trust.” The results are then compared to a normative scale to determine if the score is positive or negative.
