Consumers are skeptical of autonomous driving and parking features that already are in the marketplace, according to research about consumer attitudes toward autonomous vehicles, or driverless cars, from Strategy Analytics’ In-Vehicle UX (IUX).
The respondents – who are from the United States, China and western Europe — are beginning to form opinions on individual features. Key findings of the report:
- Consumer interest in park assist remains modest, but a good proportion of all consumers would avoid any autonomous driving feature, a trend driven largely by females and older demographics.
- Among consumers who would avoid an autonomous feature, a large percentage of consumers in all markets say they do not yet trust the technology.
- Additionally, large swaths of consumers in the US and Western Europe say they would never trust self-driving technology.
The auto industry should be paying close attention to what buyers want in AVs, Strategy Analytics said. Findings “should be especially instructive for any engineer or designer in the autonomous transport space over the next 5 to 10 years,” said Derek Viita, a Senior Analyst and the report’s author, in a press release. “User-centric design which communicates status clearly, concisely and in context, should be paramount.”
The study suggests that AV capabilities have yet to break out. It is an important time for the AV sector. Most of the attention has been on the fascinating technology that lets an automobile take over some (and eventually all) of a driver’s task. Now it’s time to see if people actually want that to happen.
“Trust remains the elephant in the room preventing widespread consumer demand,” Viita said. “In order to get consumers on board with fully automated driving services, and hasten profitability of these services, providers need patronage from not just early adopters and willing beta testers, but from some portion of the large percentage of consumer base who are currently distrustful of the technology. At present, large swaths of consumers in the US and Western Europe are actively avoiding automated parking and driving technology.”