Voice of Customer Analysis on Connected Car Services in the United States, 2018

Flexible Access to Telematics Services will be the Preferred Subscription Model in Future

This study seeks to evaluate the current usage of connected car applications such as digital assistants, online infotainment services, telematics services, navigation services, and data-enabled services in the United States. It also focusses on customer analysis bifurcation by vehicle segment, brand, and customer preference. The study seeks to highlight the most preferred and sought-after connected car applications and their use cases amongst customers across vehicle segments. Data was collected by means of a panel-based survey from respondents across the Northeastern, Southern, Midwestern, and Western regions of the United States. 1,652 decision-makers or key influencers for connected car services were questioned as part of the survey.

Connected Car Services: Highlights

• The use of digital assistants on private devices is improving. Alexa and Siri lead in terms of in-car usage.
• Services such as real-time traffic updates, contextual Point of Interest (POI) assistance, and incident alerts in near real time (e.g., Waze) are of interest to more than 60% of drivers.
• More than 40% of drivers would like to receive hazardous weather warnings and driving warnings, UBI, and maintenance/diagnostics-related services in their vehicles in future.
• Security and data privacy are perceived as the main barriers for adoption amongst respondents uninterested in data services.

Research Scope

• Identification of the most preferred connected car services (and their use cases) for customers.
• In-depth analysis of the services preferred (and their use cases) in different vehicle segments.
• Understanding of the challenges limiting the adoption of data-enabled services.
• Identification of the major connected car services that customers would seek going forward.
• Understanding of customer willingness or lack of it to share their data with automakers for personalized services.

Research Highlights

• Car Purchase and Ownership: This section analyses consumers’ perspectives towards vehicle purchase in the United States. It also identifies drivers’ attitude towards the use of different connected vehicle technologies and autonomous cars in the future.
• Digital Assistants: This section showcases the key use cases and frequency of use of digital assistants in connected vehicles and reasons for the growing interest amongst consumers.
• Online Infotainment Services and In-car Features: This section identifies the key online services and features used in cars and presents the preferred online services for the future.
• Telematics and Navigation Services: This section highlights the telematics and navigation services currently popular amongst vehicle owners and also sheds light on emerging consumer preferences for connected car services.
• Data-enabled Services: This section highlights the growing customer interest in data-enabled services, identifies consumer expectations on data privacy, and highlights the common barriers limiting the full-scale adoption of these services.