Australians would buy a Google car

Apple CarPlay and Android Auto have become key purchasing factors for new-vehicle buyers, but what if the entire car – not just its infotainment system – was designed by Google or Apple?

As it turns out, it could be a slam-dunk decision for many motorists, with almost one third of Australians revealing they’d buy a car made by Google or Apple if it became available.

While brands like Mercedes-Benz have century-long histories and Toyota is known for its bulletproof reliability, a recent survey of 1010 Aussie motorists by insurer BudgetDirect showed that more than 28 per cent of respondents would be open to buying a high-tech car made by global tech giants Google or Apple, both of which have previously had plans to develop their first cars.

Interestingly, of the 489 men polled, 34 per cent would be keen on buying a car from a tech company rather than a car company, while the 521 women surveyed appear more circumspect with only 22 per cent open to the idea.

Overall, however, while 28.3 per cent of respondents said they’d be keen on a tech-company car from Apple or Google, that means 71.7 per cent are not.

The survey shows that buyers in Victoria and the Australian Capital Territory seem to be the most progressive, with just over 36 and 30 per cent respectively saying they’d dump traditional car brands for a tech company.

The least inclined? Northern Territorians (20 per cent) and South Australians (23.6 per cent).

In terms of demographics, the 18 to 24-year-olds are the keenest to buy a high-tech car with 44.3 per cent saying they would, while just one in 10 buyers (11 per cent) aged over 65 would jump on the Google or Apple automotive bandwagon.

If Apple and Google did sell cars, there’s every chance they would marketed like throw-away mobile phones: sign up for a subscription and then upgrade to the next model after a year or two.

That strategy is already happening in the automotive world, with the Chinese leading the way. Lynk & Co is planning to shake up the automotive industry’s traditional sales model with subscription services and Volvo will offer a two-year subscription service in Australia soon.

There’s only one problem for people keen to buy a car from Apple or Google – neither tech company currently makes one and may never do so.

There was a dinky little ‘Google Car’ prototype otherwise known as the Firefly pod car, but Google now appears to be shifting into a supplier role with its Waymo subsidiary, which retrofits the company’s advanced sensor suite and software package into various US production cars such as the Chrysler Pacifica people-mover and Lexus RX SUV.

Apple reportedly had every intention to become a car-maker after sources leaked evidence that its Project Titan had plans to blossom into the world’s first self-driving electric vehicle (EV) brand.

However, it’s understood Apple has since axed the project, which was to have been based on the BMW i3 EV, although some reports insist Apple will have its first car on the road between 2023 and 2025 following the poaching of its former Mac hardware vice-president Doug Field from Tesla last week.

Although there’s no confirmation of a Google or Apple car just yet, and Telsa knows only too well how challenging it is to make a profitable car from scratch, the automotive industry and Silicon Valley are continuing to evolve deeper relationships through electric and autonomous vehicle development.

This could one day lead to a technology giant developing a radical new vehicle that you may never actually need to drive or refuel yourself. Would you be interested? Have your say below.

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