• 47% of Australians have some level of concern about AI or autonomous driving features
• 26% of 18–24-year-olds trust autonomous driving compared with just 5% of over 55s
• 52% of Australians choose 360° cameras and assisted parking as must-have tech in new cars
• 50% say blind spot monitoring, followed by 35% saying a touchscreen display is important

A representative survey of 1,000 Australian adults by Savvy has shown that 52% of respondents say that autonomous parking features such as 360° cameras are their “must have” feature in a new car.

Artificial intelligence (AI) or autonomous driving technology is becoming a mainstay in Australian automotive. This has been encouraged in part by the Australasian New Car Assessment Program including “active safety” technology as part of its new safety rating criteria as of January 2023.

Other active safety measures Australians consider important in a car purchase are blind spot monitoring (50%), emergency braking systems (32%), adaptive cruise control (28%), and lane change assist (18%).

35% of those surveyed said touchscreen displays were important, followed by Apple CarPlay/Android Auto integration (34%), and keyless entry and/or a dedicated smartphone app (31%).

Women were more likely to choose safety features over men, such as 56% of women choosing 360° cameras as important compared with 56% of men. 37% of women versus 27% of men saw emergency braking as important, while 38% of men over 32% of women saw a touchscreen as a “must have” feature.

Safety feature importance seemed to increase as cohorts got older such as 44% of 18-24s saying blind spot monitoring was important over 62% of 55-64s.

General tech such as Apple CarPlay/Android Auto was of most importance to 18-24s (50%) decreasing among all subsequent cohorts with only 18% of the over 65s stating the same.

Generation gap: Young say yes, older drivers cautious

Though we may be a long way from driverless cars, 22% of Australians say they don’t trust and feel uncomfortable with new driving or autonomous tech, with 25% saying they have some doubts and concerns.

Only 9% say they fully trust and feel comfortable with autonomous driving. 23% said they were neutral about the tech.

26% of 18-24s said they fully trust autonomous driving tech; only 8% of 45-54s, 3% of 55-64s, and 2% of over 65s saying the same.

Savvy spokesperson Adrian Edlington says that the cohort most sceptical about autonomous driving tech has the most to gain.

“In an earlier report, men aged forty to sixty-four are the highest risk of being a road fatality in Australia, and autonomous driving technology could possibly bring this awful statistic down,” he says.

“As more of these technologies are refined and included in new cars and electric vehicles, it’s inevitable Australian drivers will embrace them as potentially life-saving and useful technologies. Manufacturers who neglect these new technologies as a cost-saving measure will likely get left behind.”

About Savvy

Savvy is one of Australia’s largest online financial brokers, focusing on personal and commercial financial products. Founded in 2010, the firm has seen rapid growth, a testament to their provision of market leading rates and reaching customers with the latest in media and technology.