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Young View Vehicles as Phone Extensions
Photo by Jeffrey Bellant TECHNICAL YOUTH: Northwood University student Alexander Rogers shows an audience the most important automotive feature for his generation - the smartphone. Young people view their vehicles as another tool for connectivity, the study found. By Jeffrey Bellant
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MIDLAND, Mich. – Young drivers and future drivers desire Wi-Fi in their cars, with the top applications being navigation and music, according to a recent study. The results of the Autotrader/ Northwood University Connected Car Study were released last month during the Northwood University/ Cox Automotive Interactive Dealers Summit here. Northwood University students Ali Nasrallah and Alexander Rogers presented the results.
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The study gathered surveys from 360 participants: 60 percent male and 40 percent female. The largest portion of respondents was in the 16-year-old to 20-year-old range, said Rogers. “This is important, because these are individuals who are not purchasing new vehicles yet, but will be in the next five to 10 years,” Rogers said. “So their predictions and feelings for future trends matter.” The second largest group was ages 21 to 24. The rest were ages 25 through 45. Sixty-three percent of respon-
dents said they accessed the Internet through their smartphones. On the road, typical usage might be for navigation or streaming music. The survey showed 27 percent don’t access the Internet in a car. Two reasons people don’t use Internet while in a car are safety and conserving data usage. “You wouldn’t want to waste all your data driving while streaming music or using navigation,” Nasrallah said. Thirty-seven percent say that car Wi-Fi is what they want to use to access the Internet.
People are accustomed to getting Wi-Fi access, whether it’s going into a restaurant or school, Alexander said. “It’s the roots of connectivity for your vehicle,” Nasrallah said. “Navigation, live streaming music – it’s all in the car now. There’s no third party needed.” According to the survey, 61 percent of consumers wish their vehicles had Wi-Fi. Nasrallah said common sense says that if 61 percent want Wi-Fi in a car, it’s a strong selling point for someone selling a car. Continued on page 12
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