Closing the Perception Gap That Compromises Mobility Brands

According to a 2026 Capgemini Research Institute report, executives at vehicle brands and mobility providers estimate their Net Promoter Score (NPS), the standard measure of customer loyalty and satisfaction, at 14. Their customers score them an average of 2. That is the lowest NPS of any consumer-facing industry Capgemini measured, and the gap between what mobility organizations believe about their customer relationships and what those customers actually feel is an important data point in the industry.

The report surfaces other concerns. While 73% of vehicle brands and mobility providers consider brand reputation the top factor in a buying decision, only 48% of consumers agree. And emotional connection with a brand—something organizations ranked significantly lower in importance—is considered a meaningful factor by 41% of consumers, compared to just 24% of the organizations trying to earn their business.

What This Gap Means

A perception gap of this scale comes down to an issue with communications. The organizations scoring well on internal metrics and poorly with actual customers are usually ones that have been measuring the wrong things, talking about themselves in ways that don’t resonate with buyers and failing to understand what they believe they are delivering and what customers are actually experiencing.

McKinsey’s 2026 consumer mobility research adds useful context. As advanced driver assistance systems become more widely available, manufacturers that can clearly communicate how these capabilities improve safety, convenience and the driving experience are better positioned to influence both brand perception and purchase decisions.

The same pattern shows up with electric vehicles. Consumer concerns about public charging infrastructure remain high despite documented improvements to charging speed and network expansion. Range anxiety dropped from the second-highest consumer concern about EVs in 2023 to eighth place in 2026, as battery capacity improved, but that shift in reality hasn’t fully translated into a change in perception. Consumers are still worried about something that is materially less of a problem than it was three years ago.

Why This Matters for Marketing and Communications Strategy

The mobility industry has, broadly speaking, invested heavily in products and less consistently in the stories around the products.

Closing a perception gap is different from running a marketing campaign. It requires understanding specifically where the gap exists: which audiences, which beliefs, which misinformation, and building a sustained communications strategy designed to address those specific chasms over time. It requires earned media that reaches those audiences. And it requires consistency between what a company says publicly and what customers experience when they interact with the brand directly.

The Capgemini NPS finding, a 12-point gap between executive perception and customer reality, is a useful starting point for any mobility brand willing to ask an honest question: Do we actually know how our customers feel about us, and does our communications strategy reflect what we find when we look closely?

How To Start Closing the Gap

Before building or revising a communications strategy, conduct a perception audit. Survey current customers, recent prospects who chose a competitor and people who are aware of your brand but haven’t purchased. Ask them what words they associate with your company, what they believe about your products and what would need to change for them to feel more confident in you as a brand.

The answers will almost certainly surface divisions between internal assumptions and external reality. Use those schisms for your messaging, your media relations strategy, your content and your overall market communications.