Commentary
40 Million Cars Connected To The Internet; 64% Want It
- by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, December 29, 2015
For the past few years, connected cars have been a big deal
at the annual CES show in Las Vegas and it looks like it could be the tip of the iceberg.
Two years ago, General Motors made a big deal at the show with its in-car networking, apps in the dash and commerce on the go.
Last year, the theme continued, with even more car connectivity being shown by different automakers.
And now comes a bit of research indicating that connected car numbers are starting to scale.
More than 40 million U.S. vehicles will be connected to the Internet by the end of this year, according to Parks Associates.
And it looks like that’s just the start, with the number climbing steadily for the next two years. In their next car, the majority (64%) of car owners in broadband households would like built-in support for at least one connected activity in their next car.
The majority of car connections today are done via smartphones, which is being transformed over time.
This means that services such as Apple CarPlay and Android Auto will be pre-installed in more new cars. Many of those types of services will be on full display at CES next week.
Here are the top specific in-car capabilities car owners with smartphones say they want, in order:
- Access maps, navigation
- Access emergency or roadside assistance features
- Make or receive voice calls
- View vehicle performance or maintenance information
- Access music apps
- Browse the Web
The research firm also identified the top five trends for connected cars next year:
- Automakers embrace Apple and Android.
- Connected cars lead the way in crossing boundaries between different Internet of Things ecosystems.
- Connected technologies enable a shift in vehicle ownership models to one defined more by experience.
- Autonomous driving features will come to market system by system, such as emergency braking services.
- Privacy concerns will remain in the headlines until connectivity becomes indispensable to driving.
While smartphones have been the short-term connecting device for cars, it looks like the car itself will become its own hub on The Internet of Things.
Chuck Martin is Editor of the AI & IoT Daily at MediaPost and writes the daily Connected Thinking column. He is a NY Times Business bestselling author and his latest book is “Digital Transformation 3.0” (The New Business-to-Consumer Connections of The Internet of Things.) He is CEO of Net Future Institute and a frequent keynote speaker internationally. Follow him on Twitter @chuckmartin and contact him at Chuck@MediaPost.com.
Well, I'm going to give away my age (63).
Phones are for communicating, tablets you can connect to the world. Cars are for transportation, to get to point B from point A.
Do we not have enough morons on the road texting and driving? Do we need more car "entertainment" ? How is more info in a car a PLUS? most people have a t least a phone that can do this, and it is with you..............in the car!! It's similar to Apple and this ridiculous "wrist watch", and promoting it so "You don't have to take your phone out of your pocket." Come on, a vehicle requires multi-tasking just to keep it on the road, aware of surroundings, and the other drivers around you , who are texting. And yet we think it's a good idea to be able to read the menu from Chipolte on my dashboard? Are we that busy/important that it takes too much time to stand in the order line and read the 4 ways to build a burrito?
Not to mention, 75% of all car repairs are not mechanical, but electronics and very expensive. Let's add more to a car that can go wrong.
I recently read a 1300 person survey with the 20-45 crowd and 30% (that would be 3 out of 10 who went to public school) would choose their smart phone over a car if they had to give up one. The American car industry is pretty much doomed anyway. The "Big Three", in order to survive will only build large Pick-ups and SUV's. The mini, throw-away, silver cookie cutter cars will be relegated to the imports, (even if they are made in the US, they are still imports. The $$$ goes back to the Mother-Ship). So all the Wifi and whatever in a car is like a spoiler-air dam on a Kia, it really isn't functional, the owner thinks it looks kool, but in the end it has nothing to do with the function of the car. It's sad, but we have become a nation of Facebookers, instead of Face Time, and "selfie" self servers, and we need a picture of your Chiplote burrito on the dashboard of your car?
Thanks for your comments, Mark. No doubt you are not alone in some of your line of thinking. That neing said, while the carmakers put more interactive capabilities into vihicles, it still will be the purchasing public that decides what they do and do not want. And if the value is worth the price. EVentually, the vehicles will be self-driving anyway.
Both of you are on the right track and one day people who have cars that cannot be tracked are going be needed badly. As far as self driving, I read the report on MediaPost about the test in Austin, TX about how well the cars work even with round abouts....unless just one person enters the group who is driving. Until those tics are sorted out, we still need humans in control. When the light turns green, stay off the phone and go.
Yes, Pauka, there are countless "tics" to be worked out and they won't be overnight.
On the self driving car fiasco: I don't care how "sophisticated" the electronics and "systems", why would I willingly give up control of my vehicle to an inanimate computer? Do we not think there are evil people out there that would love to mess with any part of this? Can you give me a list of all the companies that have been "Hacked" for information and altering data? Target, UCLA, Ross, Home Depot, and many government entities have all been hacked. How about a hacker that messes with the red-light sequences and creates intersections that become murder scenes. And whose "Moral code" will be embedded in the system? A school bus is headed to the ditch, the computer corrects it back to the road, in the way is an elderly couple and the school bus may hit the car. Does the computer ditch the bus , or because the computer shows a 75 year old couple is driving, the old couple's car is directed away from the bus and it hits a telphone pole. Someone tell be who has control of that moral decision??
NO THANX, Just because you can develop technology doesn't automatically mean it's better.
So will Semi-trucks be hands free? how about the police, thay can't be controlled by this system. UPS Trucks? This is a nightmare we don't need. Google..........Apple, keep your clown cars and guide them over to Disneyland and take people to a Small , Small world where they belong. I feel better now.
Glad that made you feel better, Mark. To your point about moral decision, which is totally valid, if it is any consolation, Google is grappling with the issue of having a driverless car be 100% within the rues (full stops at red lights, obeying speed limits, etc.) since the cars are causing traffiic problems because human drivers aren't always at 100%. There is a very long way to go on all of this.