Cisco Systems (www.cisco.com) has interviewed 1,500 people and found that half of them buy cars based on the “technologic reputation” of the brand.
An interesting result as much as the other findings of the study, such as the increasing “digitization” of the buying process.
First things first, starting from the sample used for research: they surveyed 1,511 people in 10 different countries (Brazil, USA, Canada, China, India, Japan, Russia, France, the United Kingdom and Germany) by asking questions about their “preferences”.
The term is rather large and in fact the preferences apply to both the purchasing process and the life on board of the car itself. Consumers were also asked to identify the “key preferences”, addressed to manufacturers and dealers, able to make the driving experience more personal.
Latest topic, certainly not least, was the assessment of the consumer confidence about the innovation in the automotive sector.
The process of “digital purchase” has several facets, from those regarding information and decision, with 83% of people looking for the car online, to those 55% with “virtual” interactions with the dealer to close the deal with the purchase. 37% of the internet prospects trust the sites of the manufacturers. Sites, however, consulted by 61% of respondents.
The technology on board is quite important, even for practical purposes: 1 out of 2 of the respondents would like to control the price of fuel on board, 46% would like to do the same for insurance while 35% would like to know the availability of roadside assistance.
How many motorists would then be interested in a device that could help them keep accounts of the expenditure of fuel and maintenance?
Many, more than half, more precisely the 62%. Respondents are also available to send information, as well as to receive: 74% would accept to be monitored when driving if it would lead to savings in the cost of insurance or assistance.
A not insignificant 60% would come to also provide biometric data such as fingerprints and samples of their DNA, in view of an increase in their own safety and of the vehicle while an understandably higher percentage (65%) would provide less personal data – sharing information such as weight, height, preferences in entertainment and driving habits – just to have a driving experience more personalized.
The “faith” in technology is even more explicit when it comes to driverless car (menzionerei il mio articolo sul tema), which automatic driving does not require then a driver in flesh and blood. 57% of respondents would get in such a vehicle and 46% we would get in even with their own children.
This adhesion is probably motivated by the scenes that take place daily in the streets of large urban centers when the drivers are (we) humans: it is probably not a coincidence that this type of cars are accepted by 95% of respondents Brazilians, a percentage that “falls” at the 86% of the Indians and 70% of the Chinese.
In general it can be concluded that the information and technology are important and transversal through the car experience, starting from the purchasing process. No wonder about this trend: the Web has become an everyday experience for many people and it is natural that the majority of consumers expect to be connected to the Internet wherever they are. Given that it may take much of their time in their car, it is logical that they wish that their vehicle is connected.
This survey confirms that this is the time to bring the Internet to the streets and inside our cars.
The quote is from Andreas Mai, Director of Product Marketing for Connected Industries Group in Cisco, and along with that of Peter Granger, Senior Industry Marketing Manager (“Although consumers of the various parts of the world can expect very different experiences, their demands of technology are more positive than what the manufacturer can imagine”) helps to draw one of the most important strands in the future evolution of the vehicles.
That the issue is highly topical is proven by other posts published on Automotive Space, as the recent survey and interviews with Andrea Badolati and Claudio Manetti, which emphasize the interest of automotive professionals in the possibilities offered by the on-board connectivity.
