Consumers demand vehicle safety

A new customer research study from Frost & Sullivan has found European consumers rank vehicle safety second only to reliability.

A new customer research study from Frost & Sullivan, Strategic Insight into Voice of European Consumers on Passenger Car Safety Systems, has detailed the findings from web-based surveys of 2,516 current car owners who reside in Europe, drive a car no older than a 2011 model, and intend to purchase a new car within the next three years. The study has identified three groups of customers based on their attitudes towards safety and driving behaviour – sceptics, basic safety seekers and full feature seekers.

‘Full feature and basic safety seekers, which make up 72% of the population, should be targeted to increase the adoption rate of safety systems in Europe,’ said Frost & Sullivan automotive & transportation senior research analyst Kamalesh Mohanarangam. ‘In terms of targeting priority, however, basic safety seekers come after full feature seekers, who are most often women with higher-than-average incomes and a strong willingness to pay a premium for safety features.’

Across consumer segments, familiarity with safety systems has been found to positively influence uptake rates and future purchase intentions. Accordingly, automatic emergency braking, which consumers are well acquainted with, has the highest potential for uptake. On the other hand, many of the driver warning and information systems are secondary features in preference.

‘To enhance interest in automatic emergency braking and other safety systems, market participants need to implement appropriate pricing strategies as consumers give importance to value for money,’ pointed out Frost & Sullivan program manager, automotive & transportation, Prana Natarajan. ‘For instance, market participants could consider adopting the product bundle pricing strategy to lower prices for customers and maximise profits generated from passenger car safety system installations.’

Vehicle prognostics, the connected car and cyber security are just a few of the current trends in the automotive and mobility space, which will be discussed during Frost & Sullivan’s annual industry event ‘Intelligent Mobility: Future Business Models in Connected and Automated Mobility’, taking place at the House of Lords and the Royal Garden Hotel in London on 1 and 2 July 2015.

For complimentary access to more information on this research, please visit: http://corpcom.frost.com/forms/EU_PR_KFeick_MAC9-18_25Mar15.