Drivers would opt to pay up to an additional 10 percent of a new car’s price to get the in-car technology that they want, according to a new survey conducted by Accenture.
The survey polled drivers in China, Germany and the United States about their current and future use of in-car technologies, including entertainment, information, remote and driver support services, as well as the features they would consider paying a premium for over the vehicle price. Accenture believes that by 2025, all new cars sold will be connectivity-enabled.
When asked what percentage of a new car’s selling price drivers would be willing to spend on infotainment services relevant to their needs, seven in ten of all respondents, 71 percent, would pay up to 10 percent of the car price.
The research found that the functionalities consumers would be most willing to spend more on include remote services like eCall, where the vehicle automatically sends a distress message to the nearest emergency center when a life-threatening situation occurs, and bCall, a system which alerts a vehicle recovery organization when a vehicle breaks down. Sixty-three percent of respondents are interested in the e-Call feature, and 41 percent is willing to pay for the service.
According to the survey, there is a high interest in remote diagnostics and location-based services. Seventy-five percent are interested in receiving vehicle health reports and 71 percent would consider, or are very likely to start using vehicle lifecycle management reports; with nearly half of the respondents (43 percent) willing to spend extra on these features. Over half (55 percent) want location functionalities like stolen vehicle tracking and recovery, navigation, and remote parked car locator systems. A third (29 percent) would pay more for these in-car services.
“Consumers are becoming more inclined to make separate purchases of the in-car functions they want most, offering automakers the opportunity to increase revenues and create after-sales relationships with their customers – but only they can better accommodate demand for the right functionality and services,” said Axel Schmidt, managing director in Accenture’s automotive practice.
“We believe that the demand for a range of features, from safety systems and remote services to parking assist technology, will increase in the coming years.”
