Consumers like connected car features and will wait for them

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awarenessConnected car features especially Wi-Fi hotspots are growing in importance for consumers according to a new study by AT&T Drive Studio and Ericsson.

Consumers are aware of connected services:

  • 67% are aware of streaming music.
  • 67% are aware of roadside assistance.
  • 64% are are aware of Wi-Fi hotspots.
  • 64% are are aware of remote start.
  • 61% are aware of navigation with real-time traffic.

Three out of every four consumers said they consider connected car services an important feature in their next car purchase. They are starting to learn what a connected car means, 62% percent of US survey respondents are aware of the term ATT_ConnectedCar_2_NR“connected car.”

AT&T should be glad because the Wi-Fi hotspot ranked as the No. 1 feature that US customers are willing to purchase for their car.

When consumers learn about cATT_ConnectedCar_3_NRconnected services they are more likely to want them. Almost 75% of those surveyed globally, after learning about connected car services, consider them an important feature in their next car.

Car buyers will wait to get the technology they want. 78% of car buyers globally would delay a purchase by one year to buy a car with connected car services from their preferred brand.

Even more good news for AT&T which offers 4G LTE service with Wi-Fi hotspots that can be added to AT&T data plans, US consumers prefer to add their connected car wireless connectivity to a shared data plan.

Ericsson is a contributor to the AT&T Drive platform, providing a cloud-based platform on which automakers can choose to run their entire, customized connected car experience in a secure manner. Material from the research report is available to automakers through the AT&T Drive Studio.

The term “connected car,” as defined in the study, is a car equipped with a wireless internet connection for streaming music, internet radio, navigation, real-time traffic updates, location search and more.

The data was sourced from customers likely to buy a car in the next three years in the United States, Germany, Brazil, Mexico and China and the survey was conducted in July 2015.