Survey Finds Regional Flavor to Consumer Tech Tastes

More consumers want advanced technology in their next new vehicle, but their willingness to pay for it varies across leading global markets, according to a survey by IHS Markit.

More than 5,000 vehicle owners in the U.S., Canada, China, Germany and the U.K. who intend to buy a new vehicle within the next 36 months were surveyed for the business-information provider’s 2017 Automotive Connected Services and Apps Consumer Analysis. It was the fifth such annual poll.

Creature comforts were at the top of the list of technologies survey respondents say they would be willing to pay for. Consumers in four regions reported the highest preference for sunroof-moonroof technology in their new vehicle, with consumers in Germany willing to spend an additional $642 for the technology. Consumers surveyed in China said they would pay $440.

Consumers in the U.S. were most likely to pay for a rear-seat entertainment system, indicating a price point of about $640. Buyers in both the U.K. and China indicated they would spend $388 for rear-seat entertainment, but it did not rank as a top consumer choice in any other region included in the survey.

According to IHS Markit forecasts, by 2022, telematics will be equipped in 92% of new vehicles sold in the U.K., followed by Germany (91%), Canada (89%), the U.S. (87%) and China (54%), and more than half of the global fleet of vehicles in operation will be connected.

In comparison, 32% of all vehicle owners surveyed agreed telematics would be a feature they would be willing to pay for in their next new vehicle, and in-car Wi-Fi was desired by 29%. When asked about cost, both of these technologies were mentioned with a much lower price point by consumers willing to pay for them and different price points that widely varied by region.

For example, U.S. consumers would be willing to pay $484 for telematics and $472 for in-car Wi-Fi, while Canadians said they would spend $168 for telematics and $181 for Wi-Fi.

More than half of all drivers surveyed said they already have at least one vehicle equipped with an infotainment or navigation system offering features such as roadside assistance, stolen-vehicle assistance, crash notification or turn-by-turn navigation. These roadside-assistance telematics features were rated as most important in a new vehicle by 32% of all respondents.

Automatic crash notification and turn-by-turn navigation were sought by 25% of those surveyed. The inclusion of real-time traffic information was preferred by 51% of respondents, with dynamic routing and a desire for maps to be updated wirelessly based on current conditions preferred by 41% for routing and by 36% for wireless updates.

For consumers in China, however, remote vehicle control from a smartphone was the most popular feature, with 39% of respondents there indicating that feature was most important to them. Chinese consumers represented a slightly younger demographic than in other countries, with the vast majority living in urban centers where technology is more widely accepted, HIS Markit says.

The survey underlined consumer interest in integrating their mobile apps into their vehicle. Nearly all of those surveyed who were familiar with replicating their smartphone system onto an in-vehicle display indicated they were interested or somewhat interested in having that feature in their next new vehicle.

In addition, nearly half of all respondents indicated navigation as the leading use of smartphone apps in the vehicle. Weather apps followed with 40% of respondents using them in the vehicle, while 36% used music apps while in their vehicle.

“Consumers expect a lot from their next vehicle,” Colin Bird, automotive technology analyst for IHS Markit and co-author of the report, says in a news release. “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.”