Australians like advanced driving factors such as 360-degree cameras and assisted parking but are less sure of artificial intelligence (AI) or autonomous driving features.
While about 52% of Australians like the cameras and features such as assisted parking and blind spot monitoring (50% for the latter) as must-have tech in new cars, 47% say they have some concern about autonomous driving aspects.
That’s according to online financial broker Savvy’s survey of 1000 Australian adults which also shows 26% of 18 to 24-year-olds trust autonomous driving compared with just 5% of over 55s.
About 35% say a touchscreen display is important too, followed by Apple CarPlay/Android Auto integration (34%), and keyless entry and/or a dedicated smartphone app (31%).
AI or autonomous driving technology is becoming a mainstay in Australian automotive, encouraged in part by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program (ANCAP) including “active safety” technology as part of its new safety rating criteria as of January 2023, says Savvy.
Other active safety measures Australians consider important in a car purchase are blind spot monitoring (50%), emergency braking systems (32%), adaptive cruise control (28%), and lane change assist (18%).
Women are more likely to choose safety features, such as 56% of women choosing 360-degree cameras as important, 37% of women versus 27% of men viewing emergency braking as important, while 38% of men over 32% of women saw a touchscreen as a “must have” feature.
Safety feature importance seemed to increase as cohorts got older, such as 44% of 18-24s saying blind spot monitoring was important over 62% of 55-64s.
General tech such as Apple CarPlay/Android Auto was of most importance to 18 to 24-year-olds (50%) decreasing among all subsequent cohorts with only 18% of the over 65s stating the same.
Australians seem to be wary of driverless cars, 22% saying they don’t trust and feel uncomfortable with new driving or autonomous tech, with 25% saying they have some doubts and concerns.
Only 9% say they fully trust and feel comfortable with autonomous driving while 23% say they are neutral about the tech.
About 26% of 18 to 24-year-olds fully trust autonomous driving tech; only 8% of 45-54s, 3% of 55-64s, and 2% of over 65s saying the same.
Savvy spokesperson Adrian Edlington says the cohort most sceptical about autonomous driving tech has the most to gain.
“In an earlier report, men aged 40 to 64 are the highest risk of being a road fatality in Australia, and autonomous driving technology could possibly bring this awful statistic down,” he says.
“As more of these technologies are refined and included in new cars and electric vehicles, it’s inevitable Australian drivers will embrace them as potentially life-saving and useful technologies.
“Manufacturers who neglect these new technologies as a cost-saving measure will likely get left behind.”
Click here for the full Savvy report.
