On the safe track
THE TREMENDOUS progress of the automobile over the years has been undeniably driven by the latest technologies. Car buyers are thus becoming more and more selective in their purchases, particularly taking note of the offerings in the safety and comfortability departments. Automakers, for their part, are putting forth their best to deliver, introducing innovations to further improve safety and provide a much better driving experience.
This spate of advanced automotive technologies, however, may render customers to be out of the loop at some point. The latest Nielsen AutoTECHCAST Report, which annually looks into consumer preferences based on the emerging technological trends in the automotive industry, revealed that base familiarity among its survey participants was “low with just 25% being extremely or very familiar with these technologies.”
“Manufacturers need to continue to educate auto shoppers about the technologies that appeal to their personal interests and desires in order to distinguish their products from competitive options and build stronger brand loyalty with these techsavvy consumers,” Mike VanNieuwkuyk, vice- president of Nielsen Automotive, was quoted as saying in the study.
Nonetheless, it was found that there is indeed a growing consumer interest in vehicle safety, specifically when it comes to what is called active safety, which was described by Deloitte University Press as a category of safety-related efforts focused on sensing dangerous situations and attempting to prevent damage or injury altogether.
Consumers place safety among their top criteria when making a car purchase, according to the Nielsen report, which noted that five of the top 10 individual technologies of interest are safety related.
It also highlighted the respondents’ belief in corporate reputation with regard to safety offerings. “Consumers are becoming much more interested in the reputation of the company they purchase their vehicle from,” said Mr. VanNieuwkuyk. “More than half of the respondents we spoke to indicated that car manufacturers are making good choices when it comes to safety, which really bodes well for industry reputations in general.”
Last year’s New Vehicle Satisfaction Survey conducted by marketing research and consultancy firm AutoPacific also revealed the same high regard of customers for their prospective car’s safety features. 90% of the participants rated them as either “very” or “extremely important,” and tagging them as the sixth most essential among 62 separate vehicle attributes.
“Safety has always been important to consumers, but as we’ve seen more advanced safety features come to market, we have also seen an increase in the percentage of consumers who rate safety features of high
importance when shopping for a new vehicle,” said Dan Hall, AutoPacific vicepresident.
“AutoPacific’s 2015 survey gauged consumer demand for nine different driver assistance safety features. These are features like active blind-spot detection or collision warning with auto braking, that allow the vehicle to take action, or warn the driver, in certain situations,” Mr. Hall said. “Consumer demand for seven of the nine features has increased over 2014,” he added.