Consumer interest builds for 'gateway' automated vehicle technologies, says study

Trust in automation technology is very much age dependent, as younger consumers have a notably higher level of confidence in the technology than their older counterparts, according to the J.D. Power 2016 US Tech Choice Study, which says trust in automation technology is a critical step toward the future of automated vehicles. The study was conducted in February through March 2016 and is based on an online survey of more than 7,900 consumers who purchased/leased a new vehicle in the past five years.
April 29, 2016 Read time: 2 mins

Trust in automation technology is very much age dependent, as younger consumers have a notably higher level of confidence in the technology than their older counterparts, according to the J.D. Power 2016 US Tech Choice Study, which says trust in automation technology is a critical step toward the future of automated vehicles.

The study was conducted in February through March 2016 and is based on an online survey of more than 7,900 consumers who purchased/leased a new vehicle in the past five years.

The study finds that customers are most interested in a number of automotive technology features that make use of the underpinnings of fully automated vehicles, such as radar, sensors, light detection and ranging (LIDAR) and cameras. Features with high consumer interest include smart headlights, night vision, lane change assist, traffic jam assist, medical emergency stop, smart intersection and predictive vehicle control.  

However, when it comes to making the leap to fully automated cars, trust in the technology is directly linked to the age of the consumer. More than half of Gen Y (born 1977-1994) and Gen Z (1995-2000) vehicle owners say they trust self-driving technology, compared with 41 per cent of Gen X (1965-1976), 23 per cent of Baby Boomers (1946-1964) and 18 per cent of Pre-Boomers (born before 1946).

The one view all generations share is a concern for technology security, specifically surrounding privacy and the potential for systems to be hacked, hijacked or to crash (either the vehicle or the system itself).

"The level of trust is directly linked to the level of interest in a new technology among automobile buyers," said Kristin Kolodge, executive director of driver interaction and HMI research at J.D. Power. "Acceptance can be increased with exposure over time and experience with automated technologies. But trust is fragile and can be broken if there is an excessive number of incidents with automated vehicles."

Location Based Systems

Related Content

  • Record-breaking year for US toll facilities, says IBTTA
    April 1, 2016
    Last year (2015) was a record-breaking year for toll road, bridge and tunnel usage according to a new report from the International Bridge, Tunnel and Turnpike Association (IBTTA). The National Toll Facilities Usage Analysis found that drivers' use of toll roads increased by seven per cent between 2014 and 2015, a record-breaking rate of growth that puts tolling usage on pace to double in less than ten years, says IBTTA. The analysis was compiled by collecting data from 31 toll-operated facilities acros
    Read More
  • McKinsey reveals the $bns spent on mobility
    May 5, 2021
    Investors have poured nearly $330bn into more than 2,000 mobility firms since 2010
    Read More
  • Increased automation is already improving road safety
    April 20, 2017
    Richard Cuerden considers how many of the technologies developed as part of a move toward autonomous vehicles are already being deployed as ADAS improve road safety. The drive to create autonomous vehicles has caused a re-evaluation of what is needed to safely navigate today’s roads and the development of systems that can replace the driver in many scenarios. However, many manufacturers are not waiting for ‘tomorrow’ and are already incorporating these systems in their new cars as Advanced Driver Assistanc
    Read More
  • Free online tool calculates benefits of navigation systems
    May 16, 2012
    Navteq has launched a free online tool which calculates the potential savings delivered by using navigation systems. The service has been designed to cover both private and professional drivers and can be used, for example, by fleet managers to estimate the impact in relation to a group of vehicles or by car dealerships and PND manufacturers to demonstrate the savings to consumers at the point of sale.
    Read More

Highlighted Content