Connected cars aren’t some far-off vision of the future — they’re already here, with fully 91% of all new cars sold having some means of connecting to the internet (and that number is from two years ago). But for all the hype surrounding over-the-air updates, robotaxis, targeted marketing campaigns, biometric fearmongering, and automated emergency response calls, it turns out that the app most people really want has nothing to do with any of that. It’s parking!
According to the latest Connected Features Interest Survey Report carried out by TechInsights, finding an available parking space has overtaken live traffic information as the most sought-after in-car feature for drivers worldwide, according to respondents in a recent global survey that assessed 28 connected features with drivers in the US, UK, Germany, France, Italy, and China being asked to rank their interest in each service to gauge demand.
“As our roads get busier and drivers’ lives become more hectic, we are not surprised to see demand for journey-related connected features that make driving safer and more convenient, continuing to rise,” says Duncan Licence, Chief Product Officer at Parkopedia, a parking services provider that works with OEMs and commercial parking lots to offer live parking information — and he believes the OEMs need to pay attention. “The data and feedback globally shows that many drivers are likely to avoid certain vehicles or brands if their data, mapping and in-car payment services do not meet today’s expectations.”
It’s important to note that it’s not just the Boomers who want parking tech in their cars. In-car connected services that help with finding a parking space was not only the top priority for “late tech adopters” in Europe, but also for the youngest drivers, with ages 18-24. In the US, also, both the 18-24 year-old and 35-44 year-old groups surveyed cited live parking and payment as their top priority — fully 6 places above alerts such as traffic for younger drivers and ahead of live traffic updates, games, social media, and “productivity” apps that offer calendar reminders or the ability to attend meetings on the move.
What do you guys think? Does this lust for parking spaces seem right to you, or do you think this is a weird relic of surveys that only really covers a smaller, “people willing to fill out surveys” sort of demographic? Scroll on down to the comments and let us know!
Source: TechInsights; featured image generated in Dall-E.
NOTE: This survey was completed in Q4 2022 and received responses from 4,990 drivers located across the USA, UK, Germany, France, Italy and China. Respondents were questioned on how much they valued 28 different connected car features, covering a variety of services from parking information to traffic alerts, in-car payments, the ability to read/update social media through the vehicle and being able to share sat-nav routes with friends and family.
Sign up for daily news updates from CleanTechnica on email. Or follow us on Google News!
Have a tip for CleanTechnica, want to advertise, or want to suggest a guest for our CleanTech Talk podcast? Contact us here.
Former Tesla Battery Expert Leading Lyten Into New Lithium-Sulfur Battery Era — Podcast:
I don't like paywalls. You don't like paywalls. Who likes paywalls? Here at CleanTechnica, we implemented a limited paywall for a while, but it always felt wrong — and it was always tough to decide what we should put behind there. In theory, your most exclusive and best content goes behind a paywall. But then fewer people read it! We just don't like paywalls, and so we've decided to ditch ours. Unfortunately, the media business is still a tough, cut-throat business with tiny margins. It's a never-ending Olympic challenge to stay above water or even perhaps — gasp — grow. So ...
