Despite reduced hiring volumes in 2025, the automotive job market remains alive with executive-level demand. Fields & Rudd has already engaged over 4,800 industry professionals and consulted with more than 1,950 key decision-makers globally this year. This unprecedented access offers us a clear perspective whereby the automotive career opportunities emerging offer a strategic inflexion point for senior leaders seeking to align their next move with long-term market direction.
Across Europe and North America, the hiring trends we’re experiencing demonstrate a structural shift. Over 60% of roles are being filled due to attrition, both planned and unplanned. This suggests organisations are recalibrating rather than expanding, replacing departing leaders but rarely adding net new headcount. Meanwhile, the remaining 40% of hiring arises from operational realignment, new programme launches, and site expansion. For C-suite executives, this is a rare opportunity to step into high-impact roles that shape the future direction of Tier 1 suppliers and OEMs.
Why Executives Are Finally Making a Change
2025 has marked a clear shift toward cautious optimism. Of the thousands of candidates interviewed by Fields & Rudd, 19.6% chose to move forward with applications, a noticeable increase from the previous year. This signals a growing readiness among professionals to pursue new automotive career opportunities, provided the conditions are right.
Driving this change are several consistent themes:
Operational burdens have grown without proportional increases in reward.
Remuneration freezes and shrinking bonus pools, particularly in North America, have eroded incentives.
Leadership teams have been stretched thin due to attrition, creating pressure and fatigue.
Heightened performance demands are not always supported with necessary resources.
For many senior leaders, these pressures have prompted a reassessment. Rather than maintaining the status quo, executives are increasingly seeking roles that better reflect their contribution and mitigate burnout. Salaries are only part of the equation. Today’s candidates are prioritising roles that offer strategic alignment, realistic expectations, and credible leadership.
Where Demand Is Concentrated in 2025
Fields & Rudd’s retained search data from January to June 2025 shows demand segmented as follows:
Engineering Leadership: 33%
Commercial/Sales Executives: 23%
Operational and Plant Leaders: 13%
Strategic Functions (HR, Finance, Procurement): 31%
The skills most valued in today’s automotive job market include change management, digital transformation, and stakeholder alignment. The automotive industry outlook demands leaders who can not only stabilise core operations but also pilot innovation in the face of constrained budgets and uncertain geopolitical conditions.
Technology as the Driver of Change at Executive Level
Executives are increasingly expected to lead integration across smart manufacturing, QMS, and AI-enabled process optimisation. According to a recent global study, 32% of automotive manufacturers cite technology deployment as their primary internal challenge to growth, while 37% identify change management as their biggest workforce hurdle.
Key capabilities sought:
Knowledge of AI for logistics, predictive maintenance, and quality control
Experience managing digitisation within cloud-based ecosystems
Proven leadership in navigating transformation with minimal disruption
Automotive career opportunities are increasingly linked to an executive’s ability to marry technical knowledge with strategic leadership. For those with experience bridging operational execution and board-level reporting, the market is actively seeking leaders with proven transformation capability.
What Executives Need to Know
We are seeing a trend toward more secure executive packages, reflecting cautious optimism. Firms are increasingly offering enhanced contractual terms including extended notice periods during probation, contractual early redundancy clauses and transparent KPIs linked to bonus triggers.
This reflects a correction but also an acknowledgment by employers that attracting C-suite talent requires assurance in an uncertain market. Salary frameworks are also being restructured to attract, and crucially retain, leadership.
Companies are becoming more flexible, recognising that security and clarity are key decision drivers for senior talent. Notably, Aston Martin recently announced substantial increases in executive compensation, aligning packages more closely with leadership expectations and market benchmarks. Moves like these are setting a new standard across the sector.
Executives should carefully assess offer terms when evaluating new automotive career opportunities. Questions to ask include:
What protection is in place during the probation period?
Are severance terms clearly defined in the event of early organisational change?
How are performance bonuses structured, and are targets achievable?
Beyond compensation, when you are presented with automotive career opportunities look to evaluate the structural maturity and strategic vision of potential employers. Particularly assessing three key dimensions: technological readiness, organisational resilience, and cultural integrity. Businesses that perform well in these areas tend to see lower executive attrition, smoother onboarding, and better long-term engagement.
Key questions to ask:
Are the company’s digital systems scalable and AI-ready?
Is the business restructuring with foresight or reacting to pressure?
Are performance metrics realistic, and are exit terms clearly defined?
These elements now form a critical part of any well-considered move. The most compelling roles in today’s market offer the chance to shape organisational direction and leave a lasting impact. Whether you’re considering a transition due to strategic misalignment, compensation concerns, or simply to reenergise your career, the current automotive job market offers rare windows of opportunity.
With the average salary for executive-level placements now exceeding £100,000 and global automotive industry predictions pointing to steady, but uneven, recovery, the next 12 months may prove to be career-defining.
Fields & Rudd specialises in connecting top-tier automotive leadership with roles that combine strategic ambition and operational execution. If you’re re-evaluating your future, there is no better time to engage with a trusted automotive recruitment partner.
Let’s discuss your next strategic move. Contact Fields & Rudd for a confidential conversation.