Consumers looking for a new car in the next six months are interested in entertainment and connectivity features. That’s according to the 2009 J.D. Power & Associates U.S. Automotive Emerging Technologies Study out this week.
The information is used by automakers and suppliers to determine which technologies are of most interest to consumers and at what price point, the company told Radio World. The study is designed to measure consumer familiarity, interest and purchase intent for emerging automotive technologies, both before and after an estimated market price is revealed.
Among consumers who listen to their portable digital music player in their vehicle, more than one-half use an auxiliary input jack, while approximately 20% use a wireless FM transmitter.
Nearly two-thirds of consumers indicate that they would like the ability to listen to a portable digital music player through their vehicle’s speakers, while 27% express a desire to use a smartphone’s music capabilities in conjunction with their vehicle’s audio system.
Satellite radio ranked eighth (out of 18) in consumer interest before the just over 19,000 participants who responded were shown the average market price of $12.95 a month, assuming the in-dash radio of a new car would be satellite-capable. After market price, it moved up to the fifth position. HD Radio was ranked ninth before price and moved up to seventh after an average price of $200 per unit was shown.
A total of 19,249 consumers took part in the survey, conducted in April.
