Consumers Like Connection

A study of about 8,000 consumers by S&P Global Mobility found that when they use “connected-car” services, they tend to be willing to pay to subscribe to them, despite backlash to the vehicle subscriptions concept.

In the study, 82% of a subset of 4,500 consumers who’d had a free trial or a subscription on a 2016 or newer model indicated they’d definitely or probably consider subscribing to services when buying a new vehicle.

"Consumers are welcoming to the idea of subscriptions, because it gives them exposure to features or technology that they may not have had in the past," said S&P Global Mobility Senior Technical Research Analyst Yanina Mills.

Exposure to such services seems to be the most effective at convincing consumers to subscribe to them, the study found. Among respondents, 45% had signed on to a connected service at the dealership, often as a free trial.

Though an actual experience with such services is the most powerful, the survey found that dealerships can do better at point-of-sale communication about them. Twenty-eight percent of survey respondents said they had no knowledge such services were available or that the dealer they worked with didn’t offer or even mention them.

S&P said most study respondents who’d subscribed to a connected service said they’ll likely renew their subscription, and 85% said they’d recommend it to a friend.

It said Audi Connect and BMW ConnectedDrive scored high in most world markets for the third survey year in a row.

LEARN MORE: Subscriptions Not Considered Popular

Originally posted on Auto Dealer Today