We live in a wonderful age when the things we want are available on tap. Many people might not even remember the days when our world did not revolve around the Internet. We are so used to our current convenient lifestyles they have spilled over into our motoring lives. And as vehicle owners, we simply expected our cars to extend the privilege of being “connected” to us.
The need for constant connectivity is forcing automakers to soup up motor vehicle technologies. This is why the connected-car market is blossoming meteorically without us realizing it.
The infographic from our friends at carsurance.net shows that it is growing 10 times faster than the entire car market, despite 86% of consumers either do not know what connected vehicles are or have heard of them, but do not know what exactly can they do. By 2020, automotive industry observers believe that the overall connected car hardware and software is projected to become a $152-billion business.
The top five conveniences consumers want from in-car technologies are music streaming, Internet browsing, navigation, passenger braking capability and collision alarm warning. Of course, connected-car features are usually not obtainable without additional expenses. Users generally have to pay extra for built-in modems and more data, and 28% of them are willing to be charged monthly for them.
Some vehicles owners, however, do not like the idea of dealing with regular bills for connected-car features. 26% of them want the costs of such technologies added to the price of the vehicle, while 25% opt for free service with occasional advertisements.
To manufacturers, constant driver connectivity is an opportunity to gather valuable business intelligence. Many vehicle owners are actually receptive to the notion of sharing personal information to tech companies and automakers.
34% of drivers agree to let technologists know about how they use connected-car features as long as they stay anonymous, and 31% have no qualms about disclosing their private info if they get compensated. Although 19% of drivers have a “no data-sharing” policy under any circumstances, 16% are on board with zero restrictions.
The average cost of a connected vehicle is $55,000, which is still out of reach for most consumers. But affordability is not a hurdle car companies can’t overcome. Such automotive features are no longer niche technologies, so prices are likely to drop sooner than later.
To learn more about how awesome future cars are going to be, check out the following infographic.