Study: Germany's Drivers Are Reluctant to Embrace Digital Services
German drivers are generally open to new digital services. In practice, however, these play no major role for half of the people. This is the central result of a representative study conducted by the research and consulting firm Skopos Nova on behalf of Audi Business Innovation GmbH. The digital product developer, based in Munich, is a 100% subsidiary of Audi AG. For the study, a total of 1,058 drivers aged 18 and over from Germany with at least one vehicle were surveyed between December 14, 2023 and January 18, 2024. The average age was 49.6 years.
Germans are more open to technology than often assumed, but need more "guidance"
“The results show: There is generally a high willingness to use digital services,” says Andreas Sicheneder, CEO of Audi Business Innovation GmbH.
A clear generational difference is evident: While only 16% of all respondents consider digital services in the car to be "very important" and 29% at least "important," it is significantly more among younger drivers aged 18 to 34 years. 25% of drivers up to 34 years old respond with "very important," and another 39% with "important" when asked about the significance of digital services in the car.
However, there is a commonality among younger and older people behind the wheel: Despite a general interest in technological innovations, there are significant concerns, particularly with regard to potential loss of control and the technical reliability of digital services and driving assistance systems. For 8% of all surveyed drivers, a feeling of safety in the car never arises—no matter how sophisticated a technical helper or digital service may be.
Promoting Trust in New Technologies
According to Andreas Sicheneder, the study clearly underscores the necessity for automakers and developers not only to bring digital services to market maturity but also to foster trust in new technologies. It is essential to take customers, their desires, and also their concerns more seriously than before.
The CEO of Audi Business Innovation GmbH: "Trust is based on knowledge. It’s the manufacturers’ task to make the functionality of services and assistance systems comprehensible to customers. Only then can a sense of trust be built."
The stereotype of Germans being technophobes cannot be upheld. What people often lack is an understanding of the real benefits of new smart applications in the car. Enlightenment is the key here.
Younger Target Group More Open to Digital Services
The study by Audi Business Innovation GmbH highlights that young people (18 to 34 years old) are particularly positive towards new digital offerings. For this customer group, the availability of digital services in the vehicle is one of the most important criteria when purchasing a car. Younger respondents are more willing to pay significantly more for a digitally better-equipped vehicle. Exactly 89% of 18 to 34-year-olds show this higher willingness to pay. Among older drivers, the willingness to pay for digital extras is significantly lower. Thus, 47% of 45 to 54-year-olds are only slightly willing to pay more. And for 31% of this generally affluent age group, additional charges for digital services are completely out of the question.
At the same time, many younger people – and thus the buyers of premium vehicles of tomorrow – still need to be convinced of the advantages of digital services. From the OEM's perspective, it’s not a self-runner. Despite the general interest, every third respondent under 35 doubts the added value of digital services in the car. This is far fewer than the overall respondents – here, less than half are convinced of the added value of digital services – but still remarkably many.
Andreas Sicheneder: "The study gives OEMs clear indications of what drivers really want. The development process for future digital services must radically change to make substantial progress in customer acceptance and time-to-market."
And he gives automakers hope:
"Today’s skeptics are not convinced by digital services – for various reasons. However, this attitude is not cemented for all time. These doubts can be dispelled by targeted measures for clarification and information dissemination – and by new, even better products."
Autonomous Driving: Lack of Understanding Leads to Lack of Acceptance
Examples of driver assistance systems and autonomous driving show the successes targeted clarification and information work can achieve – and where more needs to be done. Half of the respondents already rate driver assistance systems as "safe" – but autonomous driving, however, is rated as such by only one-sixth so far.
The survey results show that the reduction of traffic accidents is seen as by far the biggest advantage of autonomous vehicles. At least 45% of all respondents completely or predominantly agree with this statement, and among younger people up to 35 years old, it’s even 63%.
43% of 25 to 34-year-olds find the topic generally "exciting" (overall: 28.5%). Opinions differ more on safety: 35% of 18 to 24-year-olds believe that autonomous driving is safe. Among those over 55, only 9.6% expect this aspect. One of the main reasons for the older respondents' reluctance is the issue of loss of control. Statements such as: "I don’t like giving up control and responsibility," "I want to decide for myself," or the general thought of no longer having control over the vehicle shape the picture.
In general, older respondents are more skeptical about the future of driving than younger ones. 81% of 18 to 34-year-olds look forward to the future in the vehicle, while in the entire sample, concern outweighs (53%).
Charts and a whitepaper can be found in our attachment. The link to the study is available here.
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