Chinese consumers are sniffing around the autonomous-car dream with enough interest that some in the industry think the Chinese market may become the leading one in the field. BMW and Baidu—the Chinese local equivalent of Google—have been coöperating on developing self-driving cars.
Rolf Kremer, CEO of Chinese Operations for Continental, says Chinese consumers are more receptive to new technology than are consumers in the U.S. Continental plan to have highly automated systems ready for deployment in 2016; partially automated driving could be ready by 2020, and fully automated driving could be ready by 2025.
And so the prevailing view that automated systems first will be used in Europe and North America is being challenged by surging interest in China. Magna have found Chinese consumers’ interest in connected cars goes beyond entertainment and extends to technology that can help make them safer in the car.
China’s national government and local governmental units, which play a substantial role in the development of the country’s massive automobile industry, also are interested in using the Internet to make the country’s roads safer and save energy.
And Chinese are willing to pay more for connected-car services than their American counterparts. Only about 10% of Americans would agree to pay for the services, but 42% of Chinese say they would be willing to pay the equivalent of between $90 and $250 for the services, according to Nielsen Research.
