Future of Automotive Technologies

Future of Automotive Technologies
Here is the report by Deloitte I wrote about in an earlier today via a Business Tech article. It gives a list of the key findings of the study.

• Consumer desirability for basic and advanced automation is higher for South African consumers than China, Mexico, South Korea, United Kingdom (UK), and Germany

That doesn't surprise me. South Africans seem very susceptible to trends in technology.When a new technology comes out it seems to replace the old in a very short space of time. Vinyl records didn't last long in the shops once CD's became popular and record shops have almost completely disappeared (apart from those who have greatly diversified) entirely now that people carry around MP3's on one device or another. The same thing happened with digital cameras replacing film cameras on the shelves and camera phones more or less spelling the end for most camera shops.

• Desirability for full self-driving vehicles is higher with South African consumers than in the UK and Germany; and this has increased among younger generations, who were also willing to pay more for all in-vehicle technologies when compared with other generations

Who wants to drive when you could be playing dominoes instead?

This maybe is an indication of how South Africans maybe expect their vehicle to be an appliance to serve a need rather than something they'd own for the driving experience. In UK and Germany there is an efficient and reliable public transport system so a car is far from a necessity. In South Africa, public transport is not as reliable and encompassing as much of Europe and owning your own car is certainly a big benefit.

• Almost 7 in 10 consumers consider travelling in self-driving cars to be a positive experience, and are willing to try them if they show an established safety record

As per the previous point. If a vehicle is sought more as a necessity than for the thrill of driving, then it makes sense that ease of use would rank highly in importance. The more automated a vehicle is the easier it will be to use.

• Consumers in South Africa are divided on who they trust the most in bringing self-driving technology to market, with half of the consumers trusting a tech company while the other half trust traditional car manufacturers to do the job 

Again no great surprises. If you were to ask South Africans what make their camera is then I'd expect most to say Apple or Samsung. Traditional camera manufacturers are left chasing niche markets while cellphones take the vast majority of photos these days.

• Majority of the consumers in South Africa seldom (never or rarely) use ride-sharing services, with only 2 in 10 using it at least once a week, mostly for personal use 

I'm actually surprised this figure is so high. Do 20% of South Africans really use ride sharing services every week? An interesting indication of the direction personal transport is going in the country.

• More than 1 in 3 consumers who use ride-sharing services, question their need of owning a vehicle in future 

From personal experience I know of someone who has sold his car because it is cheaper for him to use Uber to get to and from work than it was for him to pay the insurance premiums on his car. I'm sure this is true for lots of people who are only doing short journeys in their vehicle.

• 8 in 10 consumers fear hacking as the biggest threat to data sharing but would readily share their personal information with car manufactures if they get significant benefits  

 I don't really see how this could be different than sharing data with any other entity, perhaps the only real difference is the car manufacturer will most likely have details of your vehicles exact location at all times.

• Real-world battery technology performance remains below consumer expectations with 55 % of consumers only willing to wait a maximum of an hour to fully charge a vehicle, although actual charging times are still much longer

• 54% of consumers want a minimum distance of 400km or more from an electric vehicle on a single charge

See the post I made earlier today in response to these two concerns. There is also an infographic illustrating the survey results, you can download.