A new study from global market research group Ipsos has found that most people surveyed, upon buying a new car, want to drive it themselves – most are disinterested in automated driving technologies. In its Global Mobility Navigator Syndicated Study, the group surveyed over 20,000 new car buyers from 10 different countries.
“The study confirms new car buyers are simply not ready to hand over the driving responsibilities to their vehicle, even for a short amount of time," said Todd Markusic, VP of Ipsos Mobility. "A key and possibly overlooked revelation is that almost 70 percent of new car buyers simply enjoy driving."
Furthermore, drivers said that their primary concern with autonomous systems are pedestrian and other-vehicle safety. Many (about 44 percent) would remain focused on the road during autonomous driving. This implies a lack of trust in autonomous systems. Another concern was the possibility of hackers taking over a self-driving vehicle and causing an accident.
It was also found that only 15 percent of new vehicle buyers, globally, are interested in autonomous features. Only about 10 percent of Americans have experienced even low-level autonomy, but about half are aware of these systems' existence. Ipsos believes that putting people into cars with autonomous features would go a long way towards selling them on their safety.
“Getting vehicle owners to actually experience how good these systems truly are would have a tremendous impact on changing consumer perception relative to autonomous,” said Markusic.
According to the Ipsos study, only about six percent of new car buyers, globally, would purchase a fully autonomous vehicle (were it available), but 57 percent would buy one if the autonomy were optional and they could drive.
Additionally, only about 25 percent of Americans surveyed would consider an autonomous driver’s aid feature in their car. Car buyers were, however, highly interested in connected car features, especially for accident avoidance. The top-rated feature for new cars, according to the survey, was collision detection with automatic braking.
The Ipsos Mobility Navigator Study will continue, with the second and third parts covering vehicle electrification and shared mobility, respectively.
Source: Ipsos
