CHENNAI: Connected cars and digitalisation of mobility is increasingly being given the thumbs up by motorists across the world. 
According to the Continental Mobility Study 2018, motorists appreciate the potential benefits of their cars being connected to the Internet. A large majority of people in Germany, the US, China and Japan utilise offerings and services based on the digitalisation and connectivity of vehicles.
Traffic management systems such as navigation and guidance systems – including route recommendations and parking displays – are particularly popular.
But drivers are much more reluctant to share their driving behaviour data with insurers. While around three quarters of respondents in China would be willing to do this, only around half of motorists in Japan and the US would do so.
The majority of respondents in Germany would not be willing to share their data with insurers: Only four out of ten drivers would be willing to do so, with this figure falling to three out of ten among motorists aged up to 30.
The situation among young drivers in the US. is quite different: Two thirds would be willing to share their driving behaviour data in order to gain favourable insurance schemes. The figure among Chinese motorists stands at 80% and, in Japan, at a good 50%.
For the 2018 Continental Mobility Study, the technology company commissioned market and social research institute infas to conduct a representative survey of drivers in the US, Japan, China and Germany. Experts from science and the automotive industry were also interviewed. This makes the study one of the most comprehensive of its kind worldwide on mobility requirements and technology trends in the automotive sector.
According to the study, most popular are black box systems, which contain data memories that allow driving situations to be reconstructed following accidents. Three out of four drivers in both Germany and the US would welcome black boxes, with this figure standing at two thirds in Japan and four fifths in China.
Service and maintenance recommendations based on connected vehicle data would also be welcomed, most strongly in China (80%) and the US (70%).
In the US, women in particular would welcome such recommendations (79%). There is also significant demand for this in Japan (67%) and Germany (56%).