In the automotive industry, discontinuous changes are caused by digitalisation, which are perceived as disruptive. They change processes, products/services and business models in traditional companies. In research, the effects of the influence of digitalisation in the automotive industry are not sufficiently investigated, and recommendations for their acceleration have not yet been developed. Within the scope of the research of this study, a maturity index was designed to measure the digitalisation of 167 global automotive companies. The results show that digitalisation is mainly to be understood as a strategic transformation. Nevertheless, many companies are not yet so successful in it, because large companies have complex structures, often assembled through cooperative ventures and acquisitions, and approach previous digitisation efforts only as isolated pilot applications in processes, products/services and business models. The reaction to digital disruption must therefore be launched and implemented within the automotive industry as a detailed transformation process.