Want to connect?
Smartcar, which provides an application programming interface for connected cars, set out to answer that question with its 2025 State of Connected Car Apps Report, released earlier this week. The report, based on a survey of 1,000 consumers in the US and Europe, provides insights into “driver attitudes, behaviors, and expectations” around connected car applications––think products and services tied to auto insurance, shared mobility, EV charging, warranties, and vehicle maintenance.
Smartcar’s findings, per the report, “reveal a significant disconnect between the potential of connected car technology and its current adoption rates.”
“The demand and eagerness is there,” Smartcar CEO and co-founder Sahas Katta told Tech Brew.
“But the lack of apps and options and choice for consumers is creating a barrier to entry for consumers to justify the value of adopting these types of connected experiences,” he added. “If the automotive industry were to want to see an acceleration, we ideally believe they should be very open to opening the doors to developers, app creators, and innovators to build new experiences for their vehicle owners.”
Auto industry leaders do, in fact, appear intent on speeding up the adoption of connected-car tech, as they invest heavily in making vehicles smarter, more digitally connected, and increasingly reliant on software. In a September report, S&P Global Mobility noted that automakers plan to “generate billions of dollars through software services and subscription models” by 2030.
Show of hands: Smartcar’s report found that the majority of drivers (76%) are not subscribed to connected services offered by the auto brand they drive, despite such services being more common than ever––suggesting “a significant gap in market penetration and…a lack of awareness or perceived value among many drivers.”
However, the report states that 56% of respondents use third-party apps, reflecting “a willingness to utilize connected car technology,” perhaps just not the tech currently on offer from car manufacturers. And a majority of those who do pay for connected car services expressed a willingness to pay more for their subscription if automakers “provided more valuable features.”
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Value is key here. Two-thirds of respondents said they don’t take advantage of connected car tech because of cost considerations. Katta’s takeaway is that automakers need to deliver a clear value proposition to consumers in order for them to shell out their hard-earned dollars.
Drivers “may find out they can use an application with their car to manage it as a companion app, but they may not feel the price tag that the car manufacturer is charging on a monthly, annual type of basis justifies the value being provided,” he said.
Privacy, please: Data privacy is another concern among prospective users. More than half of respondents said they’d be “more willing to share their vehicle data if they were informed of the clear benefit of doing so.” Meanwhile, only 37% expressed confidence in the ability of car companies to protect their data. Katta emphasized the importance of allowing users to give their consent for how their data is used and shared.
Overall, automakers might consider giving consumers a wider variety of options when it comes to connected-car products and services, Katta said. He compared it to the early days of smartphones, when app options were extremely limited. Now, of course, they’re endless.
“Our viewpoint here is that as the ecosystem opens up and consumers have thousands of applications that they can choose from, the likelihood of adoption is going to increase rapidly,” he said.