Autotrader’s 2015 In-Vehicle Technology Shopper Influence Study announced at the Connected Car Expo showed how much buyers want technology and how much they are willing to pay. Android and Auto and CarPlay are recognized as being worthwhile for the price of a couple of iPhones or three Android phones. Car buyers plan on researching technology before buying. GM seems to be doing a good job getting people to want Wi-Fi hotspots in their cars because that feature is considered highly desirable as well as ADAS (advanced driver assistance systems).
A vast majority (90%) of people who plan on buying a car in a next year said they already have or plan to research the latest technologies as they shop for a new vehicle.
More than three-quarters (77 percent) said a vehicle with all of the technology features they desired was more important than car color.
Buyers would are willing to chance auto brands get the tech they want to the tune of 65 percent.
More and more buyers want Wi-Fi and streaming music while they feel that they must-have cruise control, diagnostic alerts and USB charging ports.
Technology tells consumers if the car is in a luxury class. More than half (53 percent) of consumers said they defined a model as luxury or non-luxury by the technology and infotainment features available.
People are willing to pay the price of iPad Pro(with the works) or three Android Phones. 44 percent say they would pay up to $1,499 for an in-vehicle concierge service such as Apple CarPlay or Android Auto.
Car buyers want better smartphone integration at 57% up from 48% in last year’s survey. More (39%) want to use their smartphones for navigation instead of navigation systems.
Ease-of-use of vehicle features is not a key-deciding factor for car shoppers, 70 percent say they would still consider a vehicle they liked if the technology was perceived to be too difficult to use.
Consumers realize that it may take some time to learn technology features 22 percent of consumers think it should take 15 minutes or less to figure out how to use the entire suite of tech features in their next vehicle.
Autotrader concluded that education is key to consumer acceptance of new technologies.
The study found that the must-have car technology features are cruise control (59%), diagnostic alerts (52%) and USB charging ports (49%). Streaming music is also important with 67% of respondents believing that being able to use streaming music services such as Pandora or Spotify makes driving more enjoyable.
Wi-Fi is high on consumers’ list with 61% wishing their current vehicle had Wi-Fi (up 16% from 2014).
The survey was conducted in September 2015, by KS&R, Inc. online from 1,012 U.S. vehicle owners who are in the market to buy a new one.