Frost & Sullivan on In-Car Infotainment: Are US and European Customers ready to Embrace Telematics and HMI Features?

- A live one hour teleconference on connected car systems market will identify whether car buyers are willing to invest in a new quality of in-car entertainment

LONDON, June 30, 2014 /PRNewswire/ -- Smart phones and devices have been omnipresent for half a decade now. As a logical consequence, the car manufacturing industry caught up by allocating a smart device-friendly in-car environment. Even though OEM infotainment systems have evolved in terms of technology and features, customer choices still point towards rather simple smart phone-focussed solutions.

Frost & Sullivan interviewed 1,600 customers in the United States and 2,800 customers across Europe, including the United Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, and Russia, on their interests and willingness to pay for in-car infotainment, telematics and HMI features. One of the main objectives of the study was to understand the importance of these features from a vehicle purchase perspective, as well as the current availability and usage levels of different features. The results will be presented during an online teleconference on July 9, 2014, at 4:00pm BST / 5:00pm CET / 11:00am EDT / 10:00am CDT.

"The connected car market is evolving at a pace much higher than the traditional automotive industry," states Frost & Sullivan research manager Chandrasekar. "Consumers sadly are not in the centre of this evolution. Over 34 percent of said interviewees were interested in steering wheel controls as an input HMI feature, which marks the highest figure in the survey. The second most appealing feature was wireless charging at 27 percent. Interestingly, over 15 percent of embedded navigation owners in the United States surveyed in the research reported they prefer using smart phone apps for navigation largely because they find the content trustworthy and the app easy to use".

The key objectives of this research were not only to understand the importance of infotainment and telematics features in the overall decision of purchasing a vehicle but also to grasp patterns and trends in regards to the adoption and use of various infotainment and telematics, navigation, and safety features by international consumers. Also, identifying the profiles and segments of those drivers who have a similar disposition towards the adoption of vehicle technologies, navigation, and infotainment features, marked an objective of this study.

Says Chandrasekar: "All of the aforementioned figures and results are alarming indicators that the automotive community is doing a pretty bad job of educating consumers about the latest and greatest in technology innovations".

The briefing will be critical for those who want to understand the various different meta levels involved in this matter: Customer awareness, satisfaction levels, willingness to pay and most importantly the amount of budget consumers allocate towards the aforementioned innovative features when considering the purchase of a new car. Also, the study contains crucial information as to the packaging and marketing strategies of infotainment and telematics features.

The event will be also of value to various teams at vehicle manufacturers ranging from product planning to product marketing, as well as Tier 1 companies, and companies involved in specific technology areas such as smart phone application developers.

If you would like to participate in this complimentary web conference, please email Julian Borchert, Corporate Communications at Julian.Borchert@frost.com, with your full contact details. Upon receipt of the above information, a registration link will be e-mailed to you. You may also register to receive a recorded version of the briefing at anytime by submitting the aforementioned contact details.

About Frost & Sullivan
Frost & Sullivan, the Growth Partnership Company, works in collaboration with clients to leverage visionary innovation that addresses the global challenges and related growth opportunities that will make or break today's market participants.

Our "Growth Partnership" supports clients by addressing these opportunities and incorporating two key elements driving visionary innovation: The Integrated Value Proposition and The Partnership Infrastructure.

• The Integrated Value Proposition provides support to our clients throughout all phases of their journey to visionary innovation including: research, analysis, strategy, vision, innovation and implementation.
• The Partnership Infrastructure is entirely unique as it constructs the foundation upon which visionary innovation becomes possible. This includes our 360 degree research, comprehensive industry coverage, career best practices as well as our global footprint of more than 40 offices.

For more than 50 years, we have been developing growth strategies for the global 1000, emerging businesses, the public sector and the investment community. Is your organization prepared for the next profound wave of industry convergence, disruptive technologies, increasing competitive intensity, Mega Trends, breakthrough best practices, changing customer dynamics and emerging economies?

Contact Us:     Start the discussion
Join Us:           Join our community
Subscribe:       Newsletter on "the next big thing"
Register:         Gain access to visionary innovation

Contact:
Julian Borchert
Corporate Communications – Europe
P: +49-(0)-69-770-3343
E: julian.borchert@frost.com
http://www.frost.com
www.twitter.com/FS_Automotive