Drivers Want Safety Features Most of All: Study

Collision-prevention features are the things drivers really want these days, at least according to J.D. Power’s first-ever U.S. Tech Choice Study, the results of which were just released today.

And surprisingly consumers didn’t prefer these features by a narrow margin, but by a landslide. “Within the top 10, collision prevention occupied seven of those 10 spaces,” J.D. Power executive director of driver interaction and human machine interface (HMI) Kristin Kolodge said while speaking at an Automotive Press Association luncheon in Detroit this afternoon. “This was very, very notable,” she said. Also, these findings squash clichés that these items are only for older drivers or luxury vehicles.

For its inaugural Tech Choice Study J.D. Power surveyed more than 5,300 drivers between January and March of this year. Respondents had either purchased or leased a vehicle in the last half decade. The study covered 59 different technologies in six separate categories (collision protection, comfort and convenience, driving assistance, energy efficiency, entertainment and connectivity as well as navigation) and 34 vehicle segments.

Kolodge said this survey is designed to answer one simple question, what people want in their next vehicles. “What are the technologies that customers most and least prefer?”

The results of the 2015 Tech Choice Study should help product planners understand what consumers want.

Technologies like night vision, blind-spot monitoring and collision-mitigation braking topped the list of features motorists crave, items that pave the way for automated and autonomous driving, which people are starting to accept and trust. Things like wireless device connectivity, remote vehicle diagnostics and a rear-view cameras ranked highly as well and by all generations, not just tech-savvy youths.

On the opposite end of the spectrum are fuel-saving features, things like active aero shutters. “There was a really low appetite for energy recovery [and hybrid stuff],” said Kolodge. Perhaps this is because fuel prices in the United States have been quite low.

Another Apple vs. Android breakdown has to do with income. Owners of luxury vehicles tended to favor iOS devices over their Google counterparts. However, for non-premium vehicles there’s a much more even split. Regarding these demographic breakdowns Kolodge said there’s “definitely much to ponder.”

“One thing that is uncontested is the rate of change,” said Kolodge. “We recognize the influence that consumer electronics has had on the automotive space.” This is something that’s accelerated progress and will continue to do so in the future. It will be interesting to see how drivers respond to the next J.D. Power U.S. Tech Choice Study.

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