Car buyers want collision protection and are willing to pay for it. The J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Tech Choice Study, showed that consumers want collision protection and enhanced safety more than navigation or energy efficiency.
Within in the past year, there has been an 11% increase in the proportion of consumers who say that the lack of the latest technology features is one of the most important reasons why they avoided a specific model or brand.
JD Power offered the following guidelines for car buyers:
- Stay aware of what’s available in terms of automated driving technologies, and test them whenever you can.
- Determine the level of automation with which you’re comfortable.
- Determine the usefulness of any new technology feature before paying extra for it.
- Consider the compatibility of communications technologies when you’re buying a phone or a car.
Three technologies consumers express most interest in having in their next vehicle are:
- Blind spot detection and prevention systems.
- Night vision.
- Enhanced collision mitigation systems.
- Camera review mirror for driving assistance.
- Self-healing paint for convenience.
Gen Y were willing to spend more new technologies than the other generations.
- Gen Y consumers, who have accounted for 27.7 percent of new-vehicle sales so far in 2015—are willing to spend an average of $3,703.
- Gen X is willing to spend $3,007.
- Boomers, $2,416.
- Pre-Boomers are willing to spend only $2,067.
59 advanced vehicle features were examined across six major categories: entertainment and connectivity; comfort and convenience; collision protection; driving assistance; navigation; and energy efficiency.
There was very little interest in energy efficiency technologies such as active shutter grille vents and solar glass roofs due to low fuel prices.
Apple CarPlay and Google Android Auto received low preference scores across all generations. The preference was based on what smartphone the consumer owned. Android owners indicated that Apple CarPlay is “unacceptable” nearly twice as often as they indicate that solar glass roof is unacceptable. Similarly, Apple phone owners indicate that Android Auto is “unacceptable” nearly twice as often as solar glass roof.
Full self-driving automation technology, part of the collision protection category, is designed to perform all safety-critical driving functions and monitor roadway conditions. The younger generations (Gen Y and Gen X) have substantially higher preference for the technology than the older generations (Boomer and Pre-Boomer). The Pre-Boomer generation, in contrast, has a greater preference for lower levels of automation, such as traffic jam assist.
- Blind spot detection and prevention has high preference for a widerange of vehicle price segments.
- Reverse auto braking systems have low preference across the vehicle price segments and preference wanes as vehicle prices increase.
- Advanced sensor technologies, such as hand gesture controlled seats, biometric driver sensors or haptic touch screens have low preference.
- Technologies in the navigation category have low preference across all vehicle price segments.
This study has different findings that other research:
A Boston Consulting Group study showed that Americans are enthusiastic about autonomous vehicles, auto piloted and self-driving cars with many willing to pay $4,000 to $5,000 more for a car with autonomous features.
Continental found that 59% of all respondents were interested in intelligent vehicle technology to improve traffic control and 57 percent desired cloud-based connectivity features.
With Leading Edge Consumers in-car voice recognition had the most appeal (86%) according to GFK.
iHS predicts that there will be 31 million cars with Android Auto and 37 million with Apple CarPlay in 2020.
In-car infotainment systems are a pain in the Bluetooth for both car owners and car makers, according to Consumer Reports 2014 Annual Reliability Survey.
The JD Power 2015 U.S. Tech Choice Study was fielded in January through March 2015 and is based on an online survey of more than 5,300 consumers who purchased/leased a new vehicle in the past five years.