Outdated Technology in Cars is a Deal Breaker for 88% of Consumers

BY Rachel Cagle
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Metova, a world leading provider of mobile, connected car, connected home and IoT Solutions, today announced the results of a survey revealing the sentiment of consumers regarding "the connected car." Of note, over half of respondents own a car that connects to the internet, either direct or via phone, while two-​thirds would switch to a different entertainment service if that service is readily available in their new vehicle.

According to AudienceSCAN, car owners make up over 85% of adults in the U.S. Over 20% are over the age of 65, 10.3% are ages 17 to 24, the remaining 69.4% is fairly evenly divided (around 17% each) between the 25 to 34, 35 to 44, 45 to 54 and 55 to 64 age groups. A little over 22% of Car Owners' annual household incomes are between $25,000 and $49,999.

Other key findings include:

  • Over half of respondents have a vehicle that connects to internet via phone or direct connection with nearly one-​third total having a car that connects to the internet via direct connection
  • More than half of respondents have a 2014 or newer vehicle
  • 80% are happy with the technology currently available in their car
  • 2 out of 3 respondents would switch from their current entertainment service provider of choice to one that was included with their vehicle
  • Streaming music services are gaining on FM Radio with 33% of consumers preferring streaming versus 37% that still choose FM Radio, primarily for convenience over content
  • 88% of consumers value new technology in their vehicles
  • 1 out of 5 new car shoppers would walk away from a potential new purchase that featured everything they wanted in a car (price, brand, design, power, MPG, etc.) if it didn't have the latest connected technology included

Car Owners are fairly tech savvy in their homes as well as their cars. A little over 35.6% own smart TVs/​streaming devices, 59.2% own either an iPad or Android tablet and 14.2% own a voice-​activated smart speaker. With this kind of technology in their homes, it's only natural that they'd expect a similar experience from their vehicle.

"This information from consumers demonstrates we have reached a tipping point on adoption and expectation for technology in the car," said Josh Smith, CEO at Metova. "At Metova, we work with our partners throughout the world to understand their vision for connected car and home solutions to provide a complete technological path along with ongoing support to surpass their goal."

The best place to advertise to Car Owners is through their TVs. The TV is where 47.3% of this audience gets most of their local news and where 61.1% saw commercials that made them take action last year, according to AudienceSCAN. Also within the last year, 49.2% saw sponsored search results that drove them to action and another 58.7% were motivated to action by ads or coupons their received via direct mail.

AudienceSCAN data is available for your applications and dashboards through the SalesFuel API. Media companies and agencies can access AudienceSCAN data through the AudienceSCAN Reports in AdMall.


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