Newsletter
It does seem increasingly likely that the connected car is going to be one of the next big things in technology. There is a good majority of people that drive their car on a daily basis either because they have to or because they want to. So naturally, if people could be connected there too, they will want to be, right? Well, according to a new survey from Strategy Analytics, that answer is a little more complex than a simple yes or a no. A recent survey from Strategy Analytics asked consumers if they would be willing to pay extra money to have a Wi-Fi hotspot built into their new car. According to the survey, 21 percent of U.S. consumers would be willing to pay that extra money. The same survey also points out that the 21 percent is down from the 24 percent that it was in the past. Why this decline in willingness to pay extra money for a connected car in today’s day and age happened, seems to be answered by another Strategy Analytics survey.
A second survey by Strategy Analytics shows that one-third of U.S. consumers would be willing to see ads in their car in exchange for free connected car capabilities. The same survey also says that most of those users would also be willing to give some of their personal data to third-party companies if it meant a free connected car upgrade. Like mentioned above, this more than likely explains why less consumers said that they would be willing to pay extra money to get a connected car upgrade. Consumers nowadays seem to be more comfortable with seeing ads and sharing their personal data with companies if it means a more convenient life. So, once consumers have a connected car they would have to pay a carrier such as AT&T or T-Mobile for the data. Strategy Analytics wanted to know what percentage of U.S. consumers would be willing to add their connected car data to their shared data plan. It turns out that only 22 percent of people would be willing to do so. That number is down from 28 percent in 2014.
What all of these surveys tell us is that regular consumers in the U.S. do indeed have an interest in connected cars. It also tells us that a good majority of the time consumers would not be willing to pay extra for the connected car and would much rather give away personal data and see ads to get them. And with much better connected car infotainment systems like Android Auto and Apple CarPlay just coming to market, the connected car is going to become more popular than ever. It will be interesting to see how consumers adopt the ‘connected car’ and if it becomes a regular thing in the near future.