Smartphone on Wheels

Seven years ago, AT&T CEO Randall Stephenson, one of the main players in the US telecommunications industry, said, “The way we think about a car, it’s just a big smartphone on wheels.” The following year, GM and AT&T proposed to install Wi-Fi Hotspot in cars for making them more intelligent.

In just a few years, cars seem to have become exactly what Stephenson imagined – a smartphone on wheels. Especially for new energy vehicles, consumer associate them with intelligence, technology, and large touchscreens. Taking Tesla, the most famous new energy vehicle abroad, as an example, people’s initial impression of it is its large touchscreen and autopilot technology.

Domestic new energy vehicles, though in their infancy, have been growing rapidly. According to statistics from the National New Energy Vehicle Monitoring Platform, as of March 2019, 486 new energy vehicle manufacturers have been successfully registered, and 450 have passed the “platform compliance inspection”, with 5,827 models passing the “vehicle compliance inspection”. Technically, the boundaries between the automotive industry and technology industries, such as the Internet and the IoT, are increasingly blurring. The interiors of traditional car manufacturers are also becoming more like those of new energy vehicles in design. For example, Mercedes-Benz’s C-Class has “a huge touchscreen infotainment system that stretches from the bottom of the center console”, which has become a major feature of its interior design.

Undoubtedly, new energy vehicles have a great impact on traditional car manufacturers in terms of technology and design. Today’s automobile has moved beyond the initial definition of a “connected car”. Functions such as Intelligent voice system, multi-screen connectivity, driver assistance systems and AR navigation have become new trends in the automotive industry. In other words, new car owners inevitably need to familiarize themselves with various new features in addition to basic driving operations. A simple statistical analysis shows that there are an average of 60 features on current sedans and SUVs, with a maximum of 80 and a minimum of 50. This raises an interesting question: with the presence of various new features, how do new car owners learn about them? How much time will it take? What issues will be encountered? What factors will affect their expectations of these features?

In a recent exploratory study we conducted on new car owners, we observed two interesting phenomena:

1) Although the learning speed of new features depends on individual personality, most features are learned within 60 days after car delivery.

2) Most car owners may stop learning and exploring new features after using the car for a while, which means they have ended the break-in phase with their new car. In this sense, their level of understanding of vehicle features does not differ much from that of the 60th day, even if they have been driving for several years.

During our research, we discovered that new car owners’ needs and expectations on car features are shaped by various factors. The primary factors include:

1) pre-knowledge: consumers’ previous driving experience may have direct impact on utilizing the new car as their memory of features from previous cars can subconsciously be projected onto the new one. When new car owners first drive their cars, they may tend to assume that the new car owns the same features as the previous one and unconsciously perform the memory-based behavior due to the unformed usage pattern of the new car.

User A has a “return” button on the old steering wheel, and this is replaced by a “*” button on the new one. Whenever he needs to use the “return” button, he subconsciously presses the “*” button in the same place and only realizes it after multiple failed attempts. He seeks help from a sales assistant and learns that his new car does not have a “return” button and the “*” button is indeed a shortcut. Ultimately, he accepts the fact and sets the button as the navigation shortcut that he would use every day.

Phenomenon summary: Pre-knowledge of the old car can greatly influence consumers’ initial usage habits. However, when the new usage pattern is formed, the previous experience will ultimately be replaced by the new habits.

2) usage habits of technological products: consumers’ habits in using technological products in their daily life may lead to similar expectations for the technological features in cars. Normally, they are not aware of this, but when the technology in cars cannot achieve the same effect as other products, it can impact their driving experience. The technological features identified in this study include the central control screen, voice recognition, 360° panoramic image, navigation, and more.

Currently, most consumers rely on mobile navigation while driving and when they use the in-car navigation for the first time:

a) they expect to have the same level of functionality as their mobile navigation, such as accurate positioning of departure and destination, real-time traffic updates, the ability to set restricted routes by entering license plates, and to record the home location.

b) they may not be used to cars’ input methods if they are different from the current ones on mobile that support speech, 9-grid input method, and more. Consumers may continue using their mobile phones instead of in-car navigation due to the unsmooth typing experience on their cars.

Voice recognition is another feature that new car owners usually have high expectations of at the beginning. Typically, they want this technology to have a fast response time and a high recognition rate, similar to the ones on mobile phones or other intelligent voice assistants such as Siri or Tmall Genie. They may feel frustrated and have the impression that the vehicle is not intelligent enough if their expectations are not met. During the process of learning voice recognition, many consumers have reported that the biggest obstacle is “not knowing what commands can be understood by the system.” Some car owners have pointed out that the user manual is insufficiently detailed to show what can be done through the voice recognition on their cars.

Phenomenon summary: individuals who are not interested in technology in their daily life are less enthusiastic about new car features. They will only use necessary functions such as air conditioning and music playback. For individuals who are fond of technology, they generally have a better acceptance of new features and will not turn to other alternatives unless the features are inefficient and difficult to use.

3) physical attempts: in the first few days of driving, most car owners are more likely to use the physical knobs/buttons that catch their eye, especially those on the steering wheel, as opposed to the central control screen.

Phenomenon summary: Individuals with curiosity may reach out to external sources for assistance, such as the user manual, vehicle forum, or sales assistant when pressing a button without knowing its purpose. Others may give up discovering the features as long as they do not impact the use of the vehicle.

4) safety features: consumers are more willing to pay for safety-related features compared to others, especially for individuals with longer driving experience. These features include tire pressure value display, automatic parking lock/folding mirrors/closing windows, front and rear radar, and more.

Phenomenon summary: New cars with the above features may provide consumers with a sense of security and leave a positive brand impression. Otherwise, consumers would rather pay extra to avoid traffic accidents.

During our research, we discovered some findings that were different from our initial assumptions. For instance:

1) car owners who are fond of internet and new technological products tend to spend more time learning about car features than others, because they learn about more features and how to use them in greater detail.

2) consumers may have emotional shifts in their perception of vehicle features. Initially, they may struggle to get used to new features but eventually, they will accept them and use them for a long time under certain usage scenarios.

User C was not satisfied with the automatic startup/shutdown feature at the beginning of using his car. He was concerned that the frequent startup/shutdown would damage the car engine. However, after driving the car for several weeks, he became more concerned about excessive fuel consumption and realized that the automatic startup/shutdown feature was fuel-efficient, as it could automatically stall the car while waiting at a red light. This feature has now become his favorite.

*These findings do not cover all possibilities, but only include factors that significantly influence user behaviors in this study.

In conclusion, most new car owners have a relatively complex learning process after picking up their cars. Ultimately, the primary function of cars is transportation. Excellent design should not make users feel like they are being tested on their learning ability, but instead allows them to get started faster, thereby creating a pleasant driving experience.