IHS Automotive Report On Consumer Preferences For Apps And In-Car Technology

Consumers are increasingly interested in utilizing new methods for integrating their favorite mobile apps with in-car technology. There are almost 2.7 billion smartphones being used globally today, with projections of 5.5 billion by the year 2018. Based on these massive numbers and expected growth, it’s no surprise vehicle owners are interested in new ways to seamlessly integrate their devices into their cars.

IHS Automotive, a global provider of automotive industry information and insights, has released a new report called Apps in the Car 2015, which includes highlights from a recent consumer study conducted by the company. It surveyed more than 4,000 vehicle owners that plan to purchase a new vehicle within the next 36 months, representing four key auto markets – the United States, China, Germany and the United Kingdom. The extensive report covers many categories, including vehicle purchase intentions, respondent profiles, Apple CarPlay/AndroidAuto/MirrorLink research, smartphone, mobile carrier and data plan information, apps, navigation and music.

“Among new car intenders, nearly 90 percent of those surveyed currently own a smartphone,” said Colin Bird, senior analyst, automotive software, apps and services at IHS Automotive. “Not surprisingly, these devices have wide implications for consumer behavior while driving and influence consumer expectations on how vehicles and apps should integrate with them.”

Almost 45 percent of the survey respondents indicated that they would use in-vehicle apps if they helped to enhance the driving experience. Interestingly, 35 percent of respondents said they’d be most willing to use in-car apps if they were similar to those found on their smartphone. Additionally, almost 75 percent of respondents across the regions indicated that they would be willing to pay for updates to an app, which is certainly noteworthy information for developers. The top five app categories that respondents indicated as favorites for use in their vehicles are: navigation (53 percent), weather (40 percent), music (38 percent), news (33 percent) and social networking (29 percent).

In the coming period, IHS expects that there will be significant growth by car manufacturers to integrate apps into their vehicles for consumer connectivity, as well as increased partnerships among OEMs and apps integrators. For the three primary in-car technology systems, IHS provided the following forecast:

* Figures are rounded. Source: IHS Auto Tech Software, Apps & Services Forecast (March 2015).

The report clearly illustrates the fact that mobile apps offer continued growth opportunities. According to the IHS research, approximately 132 billion mobile apps were downloaded globally in 2014, generating revenue of more than $25 billion. The study found approximately 90 percent of this revenue was generated through in-app purchases or subscriptions, with the remaining 10 percent being attributed to consumers who bought apps for personal, social or business use. An impressive 93 percent of respondents indicated that they had downloaded apps to their device, with 53 percent indicating that they had paid for apps in the past. While the price points for apps varied by region, the majority of respondents spent an average of $12 to $22 on their most expensive app.

IHS Automotive’s study provides interesting insights into consumer preferences, which may offer car manufacturers and app developers with valuable information to best understand the ever-evolving app and in-car technology market opportunities.