Deloitte Anjin: "89% of Korean Consumers Would Pay for Autonomous Vehicles"

[Asia Economy Reporter Suyeon Woo] A survey revealed that 89% of Korean consumers are willing to purchase autonomous vehicles directly. While consumers in Asian regions such as China and India showed high purchase intentions, consumers in Europe and North America, including Germany and the United States, remain skeptical about buying autonomous vehicles.

According to the '2020 Global Automotive Consumer Study' released on the 22nd by Deloitte Anjin Accounting Firm, part of the Deloitte Group, 89% of Korean consumers surveyed expressed willingness to pay for autonomous driving technology. This represents a 14 percentage point increase over three years from 75% in 2017.

Marking its 12th year, Deloitte's Global Automotive Consumer Study surveyed 35,000 consumers across 20 major countries including the United States, China, India, Germany, Japan, and Korea.

In particular, responses indicating willingness to pay for autonomous driving technology increased significantly among consumers in Korea, China, and Japan. In the 2020 survey, 93% of Chinese and 92% of Indian consumers expressed willingness to pay, whereas German and American consumers showed contrastingly lower rates at 59% and 66%, respectively.

However, a notable point is that while distrust in autonomous vehicle technology decreased among Korean and Japanese consumers, leading to higher willingness to pay, Chinese and Indian consumers showed increased distrust yet still exhibited higher willingness to pay.

Global consumers' refusal to pay for autonomous driving technology / Data provided by Deloitte Anjin

Regarding trust in the safety of autonomous vehicles, distrust among Korean consumers dropped from 54% in 2018 to 46% in 2020. Japan also saw a decrease from 57% in 2018 to 47% in 2020, a decline of about 10 percentage points. Conversely, distrust increased in China from 26% in 2018 to 35% in 2020, and in India from 47% to 58%, rising by more than 10 percentage points.

Joe Vitale, Deloitte Global Automotive Industry Leader, advised, "Considering the ongoing trend of global consumers hesitating to purchase due to doubts about advanced automotive technology, industry stakeholders need to reasonably assess returns on capital investments."

Global consumers' interest in eco-friendly vehicles is gradually increasing. The tendency to stick to internal combustion engines is fading, and consumers are actively embracing eco-friendly vehicles such as electric and hybrid cars. Korean consumers' preference for eco-friendly vehicles rose significantly from 43% in 2019 to 58% in 2020, with clear improvements also seen in the United States (29%→41%) and Germany (37%→51%), both strongholds of internal combustion engines.

Meanwhile, perceptions regarding car ownership varied by country. Notably, 64% of India's Millennials (born 1980?2000) and Generation Z (born 1995?2002) responded that "owning a car is not necessary," identifying India as the most promising market for car-sharing in the future.

Conversely, in Korea, the Baby Boomer generation showed the highest rate (41%) among Baby Boomers worldwide agreeing that "owning a vehicle is not necessary," while Millennials and Generation Z were the most proactive in owning private vehicles.

Junghee Bae, Vice President of Deloitte Consulting Korea, stated, "This appears to be because Korea's Millennials and Generation Z have a higher proportion of commuting by private car compared to Baby Boomers," adding, "The regressive attitude toward car-sharing among these generations is something mobility providers and companies planning such services should take into account."

Proportion of responses by country and generation stating "It will not be necessary to own a private vehicle in the future" / Source = Deloitte Anjin

This content was produced with the assistance of AI translation services.