Skills
25 skills are associated with this occupation.
0 skills selected
Overview
Automotive test drivers put vehicles through planned driving situations, observe how the vehicle responds and turn those observations into reports for engineers and design teams.
In job descriptions, look for prototype vehicles, test runs, vehicle controls, performance measurement, test data, vehicle maintenance, protective gear, safety routines and clear reporting of faults.
Explore this occupation
Open in Job ExplorerWhat the work can involve
Automotive test drivers usually work from test plans, route instructions and vehicle checklists. The work can include preparing a prototype, driving repeated scenarios, noticing handling or comfort issues and recording data clearly enough for engineers to act on it.
Skills and specializations
Useful depth includes vehicle controls, motor mechanics, aerodynamics, performance measurement, test equipment and safe driving routines. Some roles focus on endurance tests, comfort evaluation, fault reproduction or media-style vehicle assessment.
Salary context
Salary context depends on test complexity, vehicle value, safety responsibility, travel, unusual driving conditions, data-reporting depth and whether the driver also supports maintenance or engineering feedback.
Career paths
Career paths can move toward senior test driver, vehicle test coordinator, quality testing, prototype support, motorsport-adjacent testing or technical reporting for vehicle development teams.
Good to know
Check whether adverts name the vehicle types, test routes, data tools, maintenance duties, protective equipment, reporting format and the level of engineering discussion expected after each run.
Editorial note
This guide is editorial career context, not official labour-market statistics or role-specific pay data.
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Alternative labels
motor vehicle test driver
automobile test technician
test driver
auto test driver
car test and development driver
automobile test driver
road test driver
automotive test technician
prototype vehicle evaluator
prototype vehicle tester
car test technician
car tester
automobile test and development driver
road test and development driver
car test driver
Occupation group
Product graders and testers (excluding foods and beverages) (7543)
Source facts
| ESCO URI | http://data.europa.eu/esco/occupation/295dbed9-0330-42af-8650-f9296c6eb195 |
|---|---|
| ESCO code | 7543.2 |
| ISCO group | 7543 |
| Concept type | Occupation |