Automakers are taking a risk if they ditch the Apple CarPlay and Android Auto apps, a new survey from McKinsey & Co shows. Indeed, according to its findings, one in three respondents would refuse to buy a new vehicle that doesn’t the apps.
Worldwide, 30 percent of electric vehicle buyers (and 35 percent of those shopping for a gas-powered vehicle) said that if their phone could not be integrated with a vehicle, this would be a deal-breaker for them.
The proportions are slightly different in the U.S., where 25 percent of EV buyers (and 38 percent of ga-engine vehicle buyers) wouldn’t want a vehicle without these applications.
Some manufacturers, led by General Motors, have begun to drop the apps. GM argues that Google's integrated system offers more possibilities. Problem is, if buyers aren’t on board and won’t even go to the dealership to learn of the virtues of the Google system, it's going to have an effect on sales.
Rivian, meanwhile, has acknowledged that 70 percent of its customers wanted Apple CarPlay in their vehicle. After being introduced to the native system, that dropped to 30 percent.
Some respondents (17 percent of EV buyers and 30 percent of ICE vehicle buyers) said they’d be ready to pay to be able to integrate their phone. Which shows how popular the two services have become with users. The Wards Group reported that 90 percent of owners use them in their vehicles.
For automakers, offering their own system, with which it will then be possible to offer subscriptions to different services, is an attractive proposition. It also allows them to differentiate themselves, unlike with a system like Android Auto, the multimedia screen display of which is the same from one model to the next and from one manufacturer to the next.
Sure enough, Apple recently presented some of the next advances of the next generation of CarPlay, including even greater integration with the vehicle's screens, and greater symbiosis with the vehicle's system, including customization of on-screen presentations.
See: Enhanced Version of Apple CarPlay Coming Soon
See: Apple Shares More Features of Next-Gen Apple CarPlay
As for in-vehicle systems, reluctance remains high among consumers. McKinsey researchers asked motorists what they would do if smartphone integration were no longer offered with their current model. The results speak for themselves - only 35 percent of respondents worldwide said they would switch to using the manufacturer's system, while 52 percent said they would only use their phone. 14 percent said they would change vehicle brand when making their next purchase.
War seems to be declared between familiar applications and manufacturer systems.
The results of McKinsey's survey were published on June 12. The firm surveyed some 30,000 consumers across 15 countries, which account for over 80 percent of global vehicle sales.