“Our initial research indicates that the transition to Features on Demand will be an uphill battle for many automakers,” said Vanessa Ton, senior manager of market and customer research at Cox Automotive. “In the market right now, there is low consumer awareness and some skepticism on the part of shoppers. To gain consumer acceptance, automakers must ensure consumers perceive subscription-based features as a good value and not just a money-grab.” The data speaks for itself: just 21% of new vehicle shoppers are aware of FoD, and 41% said they’re interested.
The plus side is that customers see some benefits to this model because it’ll allow them to try out certain features before deciding whether to keep them or not. Think of it as a sort of try-before-you-buy approach. Customers also see FoD as a way to upgrade their existing vehicles with new tech without necessarily having to buy a new car. But the most important takeaway automakers must note is that this group of consumers view FoD as a way for new vehicles to have lower starting prices.
On the flip side, 58% think the FoD method is too expensive and there are data security and privacy issues.
