More consumers worldwide are expressing a desire for advanced, in-vehicle automotive technology when considering the purchase of their next new vehicle. The trouble, at least from the perspective of auto manufacturers and connected car and vehicle vendors, is that their willingness to pay for it varies widely, according to a new connected car survey from IHS Markit.
IHS Markit surveyed more than 5,000 vehicle owners across the U.S., Canada, the U.K., Germany, and China who said they intended to purchase a new vehicle in the next 36 months in producing its “2017 Automotive Connected Services and Apps Consumer Analysis.
U.S. survey respondents would be most likely to pay for a rear entertainment system. In terms of shelling out for one, they would be willing to pay an estimated average of $388, IHS Markit highlights.
More broadly, “creature comforts” topped the list of technological features survey respondents expressed interest in and said they would be willing to pay for. Within this category, vehicles with sunroof-moonroofs emerged at the top of the list across four regions.
Connected Car Survey
IHS Markit forecasts that telematics will be incorporated in new vehicles in “significant volumes by 2022 – 54% in China, 87% in the U.S., 89% in Canada, 91% in Germany and 92% in the U.K. Globally, more than half the world’s vehicles in operation will be connected to the Internet,” the market research company highlighed.
That said, just 32 percent of survey respondents overall said telematics was an in-vehicle technology they would be willing to pay for when buying their next new vehicle. Less, 29 percent, said they would be willing to pay for in-car Wi-Fi.
This year’s annual report, IHS Markit’s fifth, gathered and analyzed consumer input regarding 31 technologies from a variety of perspectives.
“Suppliers and automakers alike will be able to use these findings to help drive future business decisions and technology investments while determining future product offerings,” commented Colin Bird, IHS Markit automotive technology analyst and report co-author.
Moving on, more than half of all respondents said they have at least one vehicle equipped with infotainment or navigation systems that included features such as roadside assistance, stolen vehicle assistance, crash notification or turn-by-turn navigation.
Globally, 32 percent of respondents indicated roadside assistance as the most important telematics feature in a new vehicle. Stolen vehicle assistance was cited by 28 percent.
One-quarter of respondents globally cited automatic crash notification and turn-by-turn navigation among their preferred new in-vehicle technology preferences. Inclusion of real-time traffic information was preferred by 51 percent.
Forty-one percent of respondents said they would like to see dynamic navigational routing based on current traffic conditions, while 36 percent said they would prefer to have a new vehicle that receives wireless updates.
Not surprisingly, use of mobile apps in vehicles is expected to rise as more and more people drive or ride along in connected vehicles. Nearly all survey respondents familiar with integrating their smartphones or other mobile devices with in-vehicle networking systems said they were interested or somewhat interested in doing so.
Nearly half chose navigation apps as their top choice. Weather apps followed, cited by 40 percent of respondents. Thirty percent cited music apps, which creates substantial prospective revenue-producing opportunities for the likes of Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, IHS Markit points out.
“Consumers expect a lot from their next vehicle,” Bird said. “Their expectations are constantly evolving as well, as consumers expect development and implementation of these technologies in vehicles to be introduced as quickly as consumer electronics such as smartphones and tablets. It’s up to OEMs and suppliers to determine how to best address these challenges and ramp up business plans accordingly.”
29% is very high.