Wi-Fi outranked advanced driver assistance and proactive vehicle health checks as the most desired connected car feature among consumers, a new survey from AT&T Drive Studio and Ericsson found.
The feature defeated other connected car features by as much as four percent among the 7,500 respondents from the United States, Mexico, Brazil, Germany and China who participated in the online survey in July. To pay for the service, 40 percent of participants indicated that they would prefer the option to add their car as an additional device on their shared family data plan, while an additional portion said they’d like the cost factored in to the overall price of the car.
According to the survey, overall awareness of connected car features – and the benefits they bring – has continued to grow, with 62 percent of U.S. respondents indicating they were already aware of the term “connected car.” Nearly 75 percent of those surveyed said that connected technology would be an important feature in their next car. Almost 80 percent said they’d delay the purchase of a new car by one year if it meant they could get connected car services from their preferred brand.
“This study confirms that drivers today are tech savvy and value services that improve their driving experience,” said AT&T Mobility’s senior vice president of Internet of Things Chris Penrose. “It’s great to see that more drivers understand what a connected car enables them to do. With this increased awareness, we believe you’ll see adoption of integrated wireless connectivity in the car continue to take off.”
In the second quarter of 2015, AT&T reportedly added nearly one million connected cars to its platform. Through the AT&T Drive Studio, the carrier said it is continually working with Ericsson and other companies to “to lead innovation in the connected car space.”