The WBA automotive ranking presents a ranking of 25 keystone auto manufacturers based on an overall assessment comprising three parts: a performance assessment, a narrative assessment, and a trend assessment. The overall assessment measures a company’s degree of alignment with the transition to a low-carbon economy.
The performance assessment is composed of nine modules, each containing performance indicators, which reflect the Assessing low Carbon Transition® (ACT) framework.
This framework proposes indicators used to develop sector-specific methodologies. The modules can have past, present or future orientation, and cover a company’s targets, material investment, intangible investment, sold product performance, management, supplier engagement, client engagement, policy engagement and business model shift. The ACT auto sector methodology has been translated by the WBA to create this ranking.
The performance of the 25 companies varied widely across the modules and indicators. It was observed that some companies with a strong performance overall are performing well against certain indicators, and yet are performing poorly against others. For example, the ranking leader, Groupe PSA, performs well across many of the modules, but performs less well than many companies against the low-carbon vehicle share indicator.
Companies performed best in the material investment and sold product performance modules. Many of the companies were able to demonstrate that they had reduced both manufacturing and fleet – vehicle “in-use” – emissions. This may be due to regulatory pressure in these areas. However, the overall performance of the keystone auto manufacturers assessed for this ranking is compromised by generally poor performance in modules relating to target setting, management of the low-carbon transition and business model alternatives to passenger vehicles that reflect readiness for the low-carbon transition.
Across the sample, no companies achieved the optimum score of “A” for the narrative assessment, which would demonstrate a company with a consistent and credible low-carbon transition aligned business plan and strategy, with no reputational concerns and minimal risk to the company’s ability to transition. The majority of the companies ranked “C” or “D”, with a few performing particularly poorly with the lowest available score of “E”.
The trend assessment saw the majority of companies receiving either an “=” trend (12 companies) or a “-” trend (10 companies) with only three companies showing a “+” trend. This reflects the fact that the majority of the companies are either anticipated to remain consistent in their current performance, or to worsen in their future performance, based on indicators such as continued internal combustion engine vehicle sales and a lack of preparedness for the low-carbon transition.