IHS Automotive has released a market report covering more than 4,000 vehicle owners planning to buy a new car about the apps they would want in their new purchase. The data covered four major markets: the U.S., Germany, the UK, and China. The report also included forecasts for three of the primary digital dashboard systems: Android Auto, Apple CarPlay, and MirrorLink. The Google system’s annual sales units were projected at 643,000 in 2015 and 31 million in 2020. The report pegged CarPlay’s 2015 sales at 861,000 and 2020 sales at 37 million. MirrorLink had the biggest 2015 forecast at 1.1 million sales, but was significantly lower at 17 million for the 2020 forecast.
About 90% of the respondents owned a smartphone, and the results implied that phone integration could offer growth opportunities for the auto industry. Music was the third most popular app category for use in vehicles, securing 38% of respondents’ interest. For music-specific features, the report found that nearly 70% of consumers voiced a strong desire to listen to radio or CDs in their cars. But the percentage of those who wanted to hear music from their mobile devices was similar. Survey participants from China demonstrated a strong preference for mobile streaming for their in-car music.