A new report from the International Council on Clean Transportation (ICCT) rates how effectively the world’s 20 largest auto manufacturers are transitioning to zero-tailpipe-emission vehicles. The first edition of the report evaluates automakers on their performance and strategy across a set of measures related to their current position in the market, technology performance, and strategic vision for future decarbonization.

ICCT researchers independently gathered and analyzed data for six markets: China, the European Union, India, Japan, the Republic of Korea, and the U.S. The 20 manufacturers the ICCT analyzed in its rating account for 89% of sales within these six markets and 65% of sales globally.

Tesla earned the highest overall rating in the analysis, but researchers say that while it’s the only large manufacturer producing only zero-emission vehicles (ZEVs), it underperforms on some metrics such as the variety of ZEV models it offers consumers. BYD—the only legacy automaker to go all-electric—is quickly catching up to Tesla, the rating’s leader.

According to the report, legacy automakers BMW and Volkswagen are showing they’re serious about the EV transition and scored high marks in this year’s rating. It also showed that, of the 20 largest manufacturers globally by sales, six automakers are lagging behind their competitors. Of those, five are headquartered in Japan.

“Considering the Dieselgate scandal was only 7 years ago, it is remarkable to see VW emerge as a serious leader in the transition to 100% zero-emissions vehicles,” said Rachel Muncrief, Acting Executive Director of ICCT.

In 2015, research from the ICCT broke the Dieselgate scandal. Founded in 2001, the independent, nonprofit research organization based in Washington, DC, provides research and technical and scientific analysis to environmental regulators. Its mission is to improve the environmental performance and energy efficiency of road, marine, and air transportation to benefit public health and mitigate climate change.

The organization’s new report rated OEMs relative to one another across each of the 10 custom-built metrics.

“Our goal with this report was to provide a data-driven, transparent analysis of automakers’ progress toward decarbonization, in their plans and actions,” said Zifei Yang, ICCT’s Passenger Vehicle Program Lead, and the project’s manager.

The table presents the overall ratings and the rating scores on the left reflect each company’s comparative position in the ZEV transition. “Leaders,” shown in green, scored in the top third of the rating (66.7 to 100); “transitioners,” in yellow, scored in the middle third (33.4 to 66.6); and “laggards,” in red, scored in the bottom third (0 to 33.3). The metrics that make up these scores are intentionally broad because the ZEV transition is complex, according to the researchers.

The market dominance pillar contains two metrics that reflect how far along each automaker is in transitioning to ZEVs in its own fleet. The technology performance pillar consists of five metrics that combine an assessment of how well an automaker’s offerings can appeal to a growing ZEV consumer base with an evaluation of progress in sustainable manufacturing and sourcing, which will be necessary for a fully decarbonized transportation sector. The three metrics that make up the strategic vision pillar reveal each company’s commitment to its own ZEV future. The final rating results are a self-consistent view of the current state of the ZEV transition.

The ICCT says its deep auto industry expertise makes its ratings different from other ESG (environmental, social, and corporate governance) assessments. Its report is based on a forward-looking analysis of manufacturer preparedness for vehicle electrification, and it uses independent data and analysis rather than corporate surveys and self-reported information. The organization developed rating metrics with an eye toward tracking progress over time, and it plans to update the rating every year.

ICCT modeling indicates that nearly 100% of new light-duty vehicles sold in leading markets in 2035 must have zero tailpipe emissions to put the transportation sector on a trajectory aligned with the goal of limiting global warming to below 2°C, as defined in the Paris Climate Agreement.

The report, The Global Automaker Rating 2022: Who is leading the transition to electric vehicles?, by authors Chang Shen, Ilma Fadhil, Zifei Yang, and Stephanie Searle, is available at https://theicct.org/publication/the-global-automaker-rating-2022-may23/.