U.S. Mobility Confidence Index (MCI) Study
Understand Consumer Trust in Autonomous Mobility
The U.S. Mobility Confidence Index (MCI) Study measures consumer confidence in fully automated, self-driving vehicles tracking comfort, trust, knowledge and key enablers/ barriers to AV adoption. MCI is a collaborative research effort with the MIT Advanced Vehicle Technology (AVT) Consortium.
What It Measures
A Comprehensive Look at Perception, Trust, and Readiness
Evaluates 3,000+ U.S. vehicle owners covering modes of transportation across four core dimensions:
• Personal vehicles
• Commercial/fleet vehicles
• Public transit
• Air taxis
Tracks:
• Safety, control, and data privacy perceptions
• Year-over-year changes in consumer confidence
What's new for 2026:
- 6 active deployment cities, with expansion to Austin (as well as Dallas, Las Vegas, Los Angeles, Phoenix and San Francisco)
- Expanded measurement of first-ride experience, remote-operator support perceptions and the impact on future mobility and vehicle-ownership decisions
- New AV commercial trucking insights exploring how consumers perceive and experience the presence of fully automated commercial trucks on public roads, capturing their overall comfort and confidence in the technology as it operates alongside everyday passenger vehicles
How It Works
How the Mobility Confidence Index (MCI) Study Works
• Is conducted annually with a nationally representative sample of U.S. vehicle owners
• Measures awareness, perceptions, trust, and readiness for automated technologies
• Covers multiple transportation modes and use cases
• Is developed in partnership with MIT for methodological rigor
Core Strengths
Deeper Trust Insights, Clearer Direction
- Identifies psychological and informational barriers to AV adoption
- Reveals consumer expectations around safety and control
- Helps OEMs and AV developers shape communication and education strategies
- Provides policymakers with data-backed insight for regulation and safety frameworks
- Combine MCI + Robotaxi Experience data to link perception with real-world exposure, revealing readiness gaps and reducing deployment, brand, and policy risk
Business Impact
Improve Trust, Accelerate Readiness
• Identify market readiness hotspots and gaps
• Track trust and safety perceptions as they evolve
• Compare deployment readiness across cities
• Guide product, policy, and communications decisions
Press Release Information
JD Power issues a national press release highlighting key findings and top-to-bottom rankings from the study.
Who should use it
Designed for the Automated Mobility Ecosystem
- Robotaxi service providers
- AV technology developers
- OEMs
- AV trucking companies
- Tier-1 and tech suppliers
- Insurance companies
- Government/Public-sector stakeholders
Study Deliverables
Track Confidence in Autonomous Mobility
Data release: Spring 2026
Clients for the Mobility Confidence Index receive a fully prepared data file and a custom presentation.
