Automakers increasing digital offerings, linking in-dash systems to smartphones and services like traffic monitors are responding to demand, according to a US report which said a recent study by IBM showed buyers would increasingly select new cars based on the gadgetry they contain. Separately, an online survey of about 2,100 people conducted for Johnson Controls (JCI) by Harris Interactive suggested consumers want to use phones and existing apps to safely connect in their vehicles.
In the next eight years, shoppers will focus more on options like live traffic reports and the personalisation of connected services rather than brand names and reliability, according to the Transforming Retail report, cited by the New York Times.
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While fuel economy is expected to remain key for many buyers, the emphasis on connected services is creating a digital debate among automakers over how to deliver these services, the paper noted.
JCI’s survey found consumers want this process to be simple to use and for it to be convenient to download apps from traditional channels. The supplier, which specialises in interiors and electronics, said it would use the data to influence design and new product development of future infotainment products.
Asked the New York Times: should such in-car systems take an open, flexible approach to connecting with software and services, or should these services be tightly controlled and restricted by the automakers? It’s said to be shaping up as a battle similar to that between Google and Apple in smartphone operating systems.
The automakers’ opinions are about evenly divided, the NYT said.
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By GlobalData“About 50% of US auto executives expect that things will become mostly open,” Kalman Gyimesi, author of the six month IBM project told the paper.
Gyimesi said he believed the auto industry was at a tipping point in the technology tug of war which could favour the open approach taken by companies like Ford. It lets outside companies more quickly create new apps and services that can then be used via smartphones, he said.
On the other side are automakers like Mercedes-Benz that prefer to differentiate their systems and maintain customer loyalty by keeping tighter control over what connects to the car.
There’s also the safety issue.
“You don’t want Angry Birds to set off an air bag,” Jake Sigal, chief executive of Livio Radio, told the paper. Livio creates the software that connects cars like the Chevrolet Spark to mobile phones and services like internet music channels [which include brands such as Pandora and iTunes].
Some car companies take the position that by doing the development themselves, they can focus on reliability and safety, Sigal said. But a disadvantage of that approach is that services may not appear in some cars until long after their popularity has waned.
Underpinning these issues is an even more fundamental technical concern from the early days of personal computing: the lack of compatibility.
In general, software and services across different vehicles are not consistent and often require that drivers download multiple apps, particularly in tightly controlled systems. It also means software developers may need to create separate versions for different automakers and car models.
Compatibility is also important to drivers. According to the IBM study, nearly a quarter of buyers consider digital connectivity across models important when it comes to buying multiple vehicles. In other words, traffic reports and personalised streaming music channels should look and work the same in all cars.
In the open versus controlled technology debate, the former usually wins, according to analysts.
“The open approach tends to drive an industry,” Gyimesi told the New York Times.
As evidence, one need only look at smartphone operating systems, the paper added. According to market researcher IDC, Android’s 2012 market share to 31 October was about 68% worldwide while Apple was a distant second at nearly 15%.
Some key findings from the JCI study of over 2,100 US adults:
- Interest in greater connectivity via one’s vehicle is high. 84% of vehicle owners would like to control the features in their vehicle via a touch-screen infotainment system; 83% want to get updates to vehicle infotainment systems delivered wirelessly; 76% would like to connect to the internet using their vehicle as a wi-fi hotspot; 67% would like to download applications directly to their vehicle; and, 61% would like to pay for something using a debit or credit card linked to the infotainment system in their vehicle.
- Safety is the single most important feature in the selection of a vehicle (75%). The delivery of vehicle infotainment safely will be critical to consumer adoption and consumption. The second tier of important features includes vehicle diagnostics (49%) and navigation (42%).
- Smartphone apps most associated with a vehicle include: maps/navigation, 52%; news, 45%; and finding locations, 34%.
- When it comes to downloading smartphone apps to a vehicle via an interactive screen, vehicle owners who use downloaded apps on a weekly basis would prefer traditional channels. 62% have a preference for where they would download an app for their vehicle and, of those with a preference, 60% would prefer downloading from an existing app store (such as App Store for iOS, Amazon Appstore for Android), 38% would prefer a new app store for vehicle specific applications and 37% would prefer the app maker’s website (such as Pandora, Google Maps).
- When it comes to accessing a vehicle app, vehicle owners who use downloaded apps regularly want apps they know and are comfortable with.
- Two-thirds (64%) want the menu options in their vehicle to be the same as on their smartphone (ie a full list of menu options available).
Participants represented a cross-section of car owners, spanning a variety of ages, incomes, lifestyles, and vehicle segments.
At the 2013 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas this week, JCI announced it would provide its first production infotainment system which will launch globally in “a 2014 model year vehicle”.
