Global research finds what car buyers want…

Technology features are increasingly becoming a top priority among new car buyers.

New independent research conducted by GfK has found safety, reliability, fuel economy and low running costs remain car buyer’s top priorities.

However, technology features, such as parking assist, adaptive cruise control, and key-less entry, are quickly catching up and are now listed as being ‘very important’ to those people purchasing a car.

In total, more than one in three respondents listed driver tech as being ‘very important’ to them.

While the percentage of people claiming that the tech is a high priority increases notably with income.

The study finding 44% of those surveyed who were in the high-income quartile found the latest driver tech was a ‘very important’ priority.

And over a quarter (28%) said technology that makes car travel for passengers in their car more enjoyable, such as audio or video streaming and social network connectivity, said the tech was a high priority.

Siegfried Hoegl, GfK‘s Global Head of Automotive Research Driver technology, says tech was particularly important in certain countries.

“Brazil, China and Korea have the highest overall percentages saying that the latest driver technology is ‘very important’.

“The value of these findings for vehicle manufacturers lies in being able to assess precisely which features different consumer segments say appeal most to them.”