Consumers willing to embrace vehicle tech for lower insurance, maintenance costs: survey

Consumers are showing openness to using technology for better tracking of vehicle maintenance needs and potential lower insurance costs, notes a new report from networking giant Cisco Systems.

In its Customer Experience Report on vehicle buying and driving experience, the company surveyed more than 1,500 people across 10 countries.

Overall, the survey found that consumers are using technologies such as mobile, text, websites and embedded communication devices to engage with vehicle manufacturers and dealerships, Cisco noted.

Consumers are also showing interest in seeing changes for better safety, time savings and cost savings related to their driving, the company said.

Of those surveyed, 52% said they would want an automated way to track gas prices from their vehicle, and 46% said they would want to track insurance prices.

More than a third (35%) also said they would want to track roadside assistance availability and 32% said they would track recall information.

“Most consumers expect to be connected to the internet wherever they are,” Andreas Mai, director of product marketing for the Connected Industries Group at Cisco said in a statement on the survey results. “Since they may spend much of their time in their car, it stands to reason they want their car to be more connected.”

Notably, 74% of those surveyed said they would allow their driving habits to be monitored to save on insurance costs or service and maintenance costs, Cisco said.

A majority (60%) also said they would provide biometric information, including fingerprints and DNA samples, to have better personalized security or vehicle security, according to the survey results.

Would you ride in a driverless car? 57% of consumers surveyed said they would ride in a car controlled by technology. cs.co/6015XvQV

— Cisco Systems (@CiscoSystems) May 15, 2013

Nearly the same percentage (57%) also said they would be likely to ride in a driverless vehicle (one that’s controlled by  technology and doesn’t need a human driver). Consumers from Brazil, India and China were most willing to ride in driverless cars, the survey results noted.

However, when asked if they would let their children ride in driverless vehicles, only 46% said they would, with the most hesitant consumers being from Japan, France and Germany, according to Cisco.

“The survey shows consumers’ comfort with technology and need for immediate information whether they are researching, buying, driving or servicing their vehicle,” Peter Granger, senior industry marketing manager for Cisco’s Products Solutions Industry Marketing division commented in the company’s statement.

“While consumers in diverse parts of the world may expect very different experiences, their technology demand is more positive than many manufacturers imagine,” he added. “Many consumers are just waiting for manufacturers to respond with better car buying, driving and service experiences augmented by technology.”