The safety-related technologies that manufacturers are increasingly equipping their new vehicles with are making those vehicles more appealing to their owners, according to the J.D. Power 2015 U.S. Automotive Performance, Execution and Layout (APEAL) Study.
The APEAL Study, now in its 20th year, is the industry benchmark for new-vehicle appeal, examining how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive. Owners evaluate their vehicle across 77 attributes, which combine into an overall APEAL Index score that is measured on a 1,000-point scale. The overall APEAL score has increased by four points year over year to 798 in 2015.
The study finds that some safety features can contribute to a significant boost in APEAL scores. For example, the overall score among owners of vehicles with blind-spot monitoring and warning systems is 38 points higher than among those without them.
“Unlike other technologies, such as voice recognition, that can be challenging to operate, most safety features provide information in a more intuitive way, giving owners a greater sense of security,” said Renee Stephens, vice president of US automotive quality at J.D. Power. “Not only are models increasingly offering systems that improve safety and visibility, but owners are also using them on a regular basis. This can go a long way toward generating positive feelings about their vehicle overall.”
The study finds that 36 per cent of owners have blind-spot monitoring and warning systems in their vehicle (up seven percentage points from 2014); 21 per cent have lane-departure warning systems (up five percentage points); 46 per cent have park assist/backup warning (up four percentage points); and 25 per cent have collision avoidance/alert systems (up four percentage points).
Furthermore, 69 per cent of owners who have blind-spot warning systems and 62 per cent with park assist systems indicate they use them every time they drive.
Only 15 per cent of owners say they have had previous experience with blind-spot warning systems and only 39 per cent say their dealer explained the feature to them upon vehicle delivery.
According to the J.D. Power 2015 US Tech Choice Study, consumers are willing to spend substantially more on vehicles that include certain safety features. For example, respondents in that study indicate a willingness to pay a market price of $US750, on average, for blind-spot detection and prevention systems.
While premium brands historically perform significantly higher than non-premium brands in the APEAL Index, study findings show that the gap between the two in 2015 is the smallest for the past 10 years, narrowing by 16 per cent since 2006. The average APEAL Index score in the non-premium segment (790) has improved by five points from 2014, while the average score in the premium segment (841) has improved by only one point.
“Over the past several years, we have seen non-premium brands increasingly offer the types of in-vehicle technologies that used to be available only to premium buyers,” said Stephens. “The positive impact these technologies have on owners is more pronounced among non-premium owners. In fact, owners of non-premium vehicles that include the latest technology register higher APEAL scores by 50 points, compared with just a 29-point increase among owners of premium vehicles with the same technologies.”
Porsche ranks highest in APEAL for an 11th consecutive year, with a score of 874 index points. Porsche is followed in the rankings by3883 Jaguar (855), BMW (854), Mercedes-Benz (853) and Audi (852). Mini is the highest-ranking non-premium brand in the study with a score of 825.
1960 Chevrolet, 278 Ford, 1656 Porsche, 2125 Audi, 1731 BMW, 1956 Dodge, 1844 Mazda and Mini receive multiple model-level APEAL awards. Other models receiving awards are 1674 Fiat 500; 3877 GMC Sierra HD; 4777 Infiniti QX80; 5229 Kia Sedona; 1685 Mercedes-Benz S-Class; 838 Nissan Murano; and 994 Volkswagen Golf.
The APEAL Study, now in its 20th year, is the industry benchmark for new-vehicle appeal, examining how gratifying a new vehicle is to own and drive. Owners evaluate their vehicle across 77 attributes, which combine into an overall APEAL Index score that is measured on a 1,000-point scale. The overall APEAL score has increased by four points year over year to 798 in 2015.
The study finds that some safety features can contribute to a significant boost in APEAL scores. For example, the overall score among owners of vehicles with blind-spot monitoring and warning systems is 38 points higher than among those without them.
“Unlike other technologies, such as voice recognition, that can be challenging to operate, most safety features provide information in a more intuitive way, giving owners a greater sense of security,” said Renee Stephens, vice president of US automotive quality at J.D. Power. “Not only are models increasingly offering systems that improve safety and visibility, but owners are also using them on a regular basis. This can go a long way toward generating positive feelings about their vehicle overall.”
The study finds that 36 per cent of owners have blind-spot monitoring and warning systems in their vehicle (up seven percentage points from 2014); 21 per cent have lane-departure warning systems (up five percentage points); 46 per cent have park assist/backup warning (up four percentage points); and 25 per cent have collision avoidance/alert systems (up four percentage points).
Furthermore, 69 per cent of owners who have blind-spot warning systems and 62 per cent with park assist systems indicate they use them every time they drive.
Only 15 per cent of owners say they have had previous experience with blind-spot warning systems and only 39 per cent say their dealer explained the feature to them upon vehicle delivery.
According to the J.D. Power 2015 US Tech Choice Study, consumers are willing to spend substantially more on vehicles that include certain safety features. For example, respondents in that study indicate a willingness to pay a market price of $US750, on average, for blind-spot detection and prevention systems.
While premium brands historically perform significantly higher than non-premium brands in the APEAL Index, study findings show that the gap between the two in 2015 is the smallest for the past 10 years, narrowing by 16 per cent since 2006. The average APEAL Index score in the non-premium segment (790) has improved by five points from 2014, while the average score in the premium segment (841) has improved by only one point.
“Over the past several years, we have seen non-premium brands increasingly offer the types of in-vehicle technologies that used to be available only to premium buyers,” said Stephens. “The positive impact these technologies have on owners is more pronounced among non-premium owners. In fact, owners of non-premium vehicles that include the latest technology register higher APEAL scores by 50 points, compared with just a 29-point increase among owners of premium vehicles with the same technologies.”
Porsche ranks highest in APEAL for an 11th consecutive year, with a score of 874 index points. Porsche is followed in the rankings by
