40% of Consumers Would Pay Extra for Driverless Tech
Burney Simpson
More than 40 percent of Americans would pay extra for a self-driving vehicle, though more than half don’t want to invest another dime in such technology, according to new research from the University of Texas at Austin.
A study found that 41.3 percent of Americans were willing to pay (WTP) extra for Level 4 autonomous vehicle technology, while 58.7 percent did not want to pay anything. Level 4 technology means the vehicle can operate completely autonomously without any driver assistance, under definitions created by the National Highway Traffic Safety Administration (NHTSA).
Those willing to pay extra for Level 4 technology would pay an average of $14,589.
The study was conducted by Kara M. Kockelman, an engineering professor at UT, and graduate research assistant Prateek Bansal.
Kockelman presented her findings “Forecasting American’s Long-Term Adoption of Connected and Autonomous Vehicle Technologies” (PDF) at the TRB 95th Annual Meeting in Washington, D.C.
A similar percentage of Americans were willing to pay more for Level 3 vehicle technology, though not as much, according to the findings. A Level 3 autonomous vehicle is in control virtually all time while still requiring some human intervention. The Google car is an example of Level 3 technology, NHTSA reported.
More than 44 percent would pay extra for a Level 3 vehicle, while 55.4 percent would not pay a dime for it.
Those willing to pay extra for the technology would pay an average of $5,551.
The study used data from a survey of 2,167 Americans, reviewing their interest in connected and autonomous vehicle technology and their annual vehicle spending decisions.
The researchers looked into consumer interest in adopting autonomous technology under eight different scenarios, including a drop in price from 5 percent to 10 percent, a rise in willingness to pay, and changes in regulations.
