New car buyers are more interested in new technology than safety

Published Date: 12th Apr 2016

In a recent survey by what car? Nearly four times more customers choose new technology gadgets over the new safety related tech.

The survey shows that new car owners are splashing the cash for items like Bluetooth capability, satellite navigation and digital radio rather than the automated braking systems, lane keeping assit and radar cruise control.

A total of six out of every ten new car buyers will not add any safety options whatsoever. Automated emergency braking or AEB is the most popular choice with just short of 20% of new cars having it installed.

Styling and Interior comfort also score very high over safety, with features like alloy wheels (42%) and heated seats (60%) ranking higher than many safety features.

Sat-nav is very popular with 64% of customer choosing it along with DAB radio costing around £200 which is around the price of autonomous emergency braking.

What can be done to add more safety tech to new cars?

The figures will more than likely change in the coming years with the motor industry calling for AEB to be installed on every new car to increase safety, reduce low speed collisions and therefore bring the cost of insurance premiums down.

Jim Holder, editorial director of What Car?, said: “When it comes to talking about what’s important in a car, most people are vociferous about how vital safety is. However, it seems to be a different matter when new car buyers are sat in front of the salesman.

“British car buyers are clearly going for style over substance.

“It’s beneficial to have creature comforts in your car, especially if you spend a lot of time driving. But it’s quite shocking to think that features which could save peoples’ lives are taking a back seat to having the right sound quality on the radio, especially when those items often cost around the same as the safety options.”