IAA MOBILITY 2025: Trend Index: Personal Mobility Considered Essential in Daily Life Worldwide

• First global Trend Index for IAA MOBILITY 2025 surveys people in China, the US, the UK, Germany, France, Italy, and Spain.
• The automobile continues to be seen as the central vehicle for personal mobility.
• Trust in the automotive industry as a guarantor of prosperity is globally high.
• Electric mobility and autonomous driving are regarded as key future technologies.

Ahead of IAA MOBILITY 2025, the first IAA MOBILITY Trend Index has been released. The survey, conducted by the polling institute Civey, analyzes mobility expectations in Germany, China, the US, the UK, France, Italy, and Spain. The results paint a clear, global picture of the ongoing transformation.

The Car as a Central Factor for Personal Mobility
The survey shows that personal mobility is a key priority for people in their daily lives across the countries surveyed. Personal mobility in daily life is defined as "important" by high majorities, ranging from 83% in Spain to 96% in Germany and France, and 98% in China and Italy.

The car will remain at the heart of personal mobility in the future. In Western industrialized nations, it is expected to be the primary mode of transport for the next ten years. The survey asked which form of personal mobility will be most influential in the coming decade.

The US leads this assessment, with 55% of respondents stating that the car will most strongly shape personal mobility over the next 10 years, followed by the UK (48%), Germany (47%), and Spain (approx. 50%). In France (41%) and Italy (39%), a large proportion also see the car at the center of future personal mobility. In the majority of Western countries surveyed, public transportation ranks as the second most important factor for future personal mobility. This applies to Spain (26.9%), the United Kingdom (18.8%), France (18.0%), Italy (16.4%), and Germany (16.1%). In third place in most of these countries is the autonomous vehicle, including in Germany (15.3%), Italy (15.7%), the United Kingdom (12.0%), and Spain (8.8%).

Expectations in the US and China differ in part from this European pattern. While in the US the autonomous vehicle (11.0%) and public transportation (7.3%) take second and third place, China shows an even stronger technology focus: there, the car ranks second (17.9%) and the air taxi ranks third (10.5%). Nearly half of Chinese respondents (49.2%) see the autonomous vehicle as the most defining factor for their personal mobility in ten years.

Global Consensus: The Future of Powertrains is Electric
Simultaneously, there is a broad consensus on the future of powertrains. When asked which type of powertrain will prevail in the automotive sector, electric comes out on top. In France, 37,6% of respondents expect this, compared to 55% in the United Kingdom and 50% in the US. Germany (43%), Spain (46%), and Italy (44%) also show a clear orientation towards electrification of the car.

In most countries surveyed, hydrogen powertrain follows in second place. It is considered a prevailing future technology, particularly in Italy (31%), China (29%), Spain (22%), and Germany (21%).

High Trust in the Industry and its Innovations
Despite profound technological shifts, the automotive industry enjoys enormous trust as an anchor of economic stability in the surveyed countries. The statement that "the automotive industry, as a driver of innovation, is also a guarantor of prosperity" received nearly unanimous agreement in China (98%). In Spain (86%), Germany (76%), as well as in France, Italy, the US, and the UK (each around 70%), the industry is viewed by a majority as a guarantor of prosperity and innovation.

Autonomous Driving and Willingness to Share Data
The fundamental willingness to use driverless vehicles is very high. It ranges from 50% in Germany to nearly two-thirds in Italy (63%) and Spain (66%). In China, 98% of respondents can imagine doing so. This high acceptance of innovation is also evident in the willingness to share data. A large majority of respondents would share anonymized driving data to enable innovations in safety and the driving experience. This willingness is highest in China (95%) and is also expressed by a majority in Western countries, such as Spain (70%), the US (66%), the UK (65%), and Germany (62%).

Jürgen Mindel, Managing Director for IAA at the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), says of the results: "The first IAA MOBILITY Trend Index shows a clear picture: personal mobility is a central, highly valued part of daily life for people all over the world — and the car continues to play the dominant role. It is also notable that the automotive industry and its innovations are considered a guarantor of prosperity. At the same time, it is striking that the fundamental willingness to use autonomous driving or to share anonymized data is higher than widely expected. This is something we can build on."
 
Methodological Note on the Survey
On behalf of the German Association of the Automotive Industry (VDA), Civey, in cooperation with Cint, conducted an online survey from June 11 to June 12, 2025, of 1,000 people aged 18 and over in each of the following countries: Germany, France, Italy, Spain, the US, and the United Kingdom. In China, 1,000 people aged 18 and over were also surveyed from June 11 to June 17, 2025. The results are representative based on quotas and weighting. The statistical margin of error for each country's overall result is 3.1 percentage points.

Download the IAA MOBILITY TREND INDEX here: