The car tech you never use

Modern vehicles are jam-packed with technology. Is it just more that can go wrong? Is it worth getting just for bragging rights? Well, it seems that for a large percentage of new-car buyers, they are just features that simply won’t get used.

While car manufacturers are investing billions of dollars to develop and market technologies that make driving cars easier, it appears that once a car is in their possession many owners don't take advantage of features like internet connectivity, self-parking systems and head-up displays.

According to JD Power's 2015 Driver Interactive Vehicle Experience (DrIVE) Report released this week, at least 20 per cent of new-vehicle purchasers have never used a significant proportion of the newest technology gadgetry available to them.

It found that 16 of the 33 technology features examined by the report, which covered the first 90 days of ownership, were “never used” by more than 20 per cent of the 4200-plus vehicle owners surveyed.    

The top five unused pieces of in-car tech according to the respondents were Concierge services (43%), mobile router hot-spots (38%), automatic parking systems (35%), head-up display (33%) and built-in applications (32%).

“In many cases, owners simply prefer to use their smartphone or tablet because it meets their needs; they’re familiar with the device and it’s accurate,” said Kristin Kolodge , executive director of driver interaction & HMI research at JD Power.

Many respondents to the JD Power report stated that the technology “came as part of a package on my current vehicle and I did not want it”.

That means a great deal of money goes into the research, development and manufacture of technologies that remain unused, and that many consumers are ultimately paying for a product they don’t use.

“In-vehicle connectivity technology that’s not used results in millions of dollars of lost value for both consumers and the manufacturers.”

Many of the technologies listed as never used are yet to be ubiquitous across all manufacturers but they still rate highly on the list of tech that more than a fifth of owners may never use in their new vehicles.

JD Power says there are 14 features that 20 per cent of owners do not want in their next vehicle, including emerging connectivity technologies such as Apple CarPlay, Google’s Android Auto, in-vehicle concierge services and voice-to-text systems.

Among the Gen Y buyers surveyed, the number of features unwanted by at least 20 per cent of owners increases to 23, specifically technologies related to entertainment and connectivity systems.

“The first 30 days are critical. That first-time experience with the technology is the make-it-or-break-it stage,” said Kolodge.

“Automakers need to get it right the first time, or owners will simply use their own mobile device instead of the in-vehicle technology.”

Kolodge added that the onus was on car-makers to make new technologies user-friendly for customers and dealers, who are charged with selling them.

“While dealers are expected to play a key role in explaining the technology to consumers, the onus should be on automakers to design the technology to be intuitive for consumers.

“Automakers also need to explain the technology to dealership staff and train them on how to demonstrate it to owners.”

This kind of report could put marketing departments into a spin as they try to understand what their next technology advertising hook will need to be. If a self-parking doesn't grab the imagination of new-car purchasers, what will?