MarketSource Survey Finds 12-Volt Potential

By Joseph Palenchar -- TWICE, 8/30/2010

Alpharetta, Ga. - A sizable percentage of U.S. adults wants to replace their car stereo system or add such features as HD Radio, Internet radio, satellite radio or hands-free Bluetooth capability, a MarketSource survey found.

Those are some of the findings of an exclusive nationwide online survey for TWICE by MarketSource, a market research company and provider of integrated sales and market services, which compiled responses from adults of at least 18 years old in 505 households.

The respondents were asked to rate their intent to buy in the next year on a scale of one to five, with one meaning “not at all interested,” to five meaning “extremely interested” or “definitely.”

MarketSource found that 20 percent of adults are “extremely interested” in replacing one of their current car stereo systems in the next year to improve sound quality, power output or add new features and technologies. Thirteen percent, however, said they have no plans to replace a system.

Interest is highest in adding HD Radio, satellite radio and a Bluetooth system that reproduces the voice of an incoming caller through car speakers.

Five percent said they own an HD Radio for the car, and 28 percent are extremely interested in adding the feature in the next year. Fifteen percent own a satellite radio for the car, and 24 per-the voice of an incoming caller through the car’s speakers, and 31 percent are extremely interested in adding that capability.

Fifteen percent already own a car radio with input that connects directly to an iPod output, and 21 percent said they were extremely interested in buying such a radio in the next 12 months. A total of 29 percent already use an adapter to listen to an iPod or MP3 player through their car stereo, and 27 percent are extremely likely to add that capability in the coming year.

A sizable chunk of consumers are similarly interested in Internet radio for the car. Four percent said they already own a car radio that connects to a smartphone to stream Internet radio and Internet music services such as Pandora and Slacker, and 15 percent are extremely interested in adding that feature.

In another finding, MarketSource found that 9 percent of households with incomes of less than $75,000 per year are extremely interested in buying or leasing a new vehicle in the next year, with 17 percent of households earning more than $75,000 expressing extreme interest. Eighteen percent of households with incomes of less than $75,000 and 23 percent with incomes above that say they are likely to get a new vehicle, representing a four on MarketSource’s one-to-five scale.

Consumers buying new vehicles are potential customers of aftermarket car electronics products, as are the purchasers of the used vehicles that go on the market as a result.

The ST5500/CL80 is a compact point-andshoot camera with 14.2-megapixel image resolution, HD video recording, touchscreen keypad, and Wi-Fi and Bluetooth wireless connectivity.

U.S. availability for the camera will be announced in the near future, Boingo said.

On the OEM side, sales are also up, Struble said, in part because new-car sales are rising again but also because of more OEM availability. So far, automakers have announced that 84 vehicle models from 14 vehicle brands will offer standard or optional HD Radio in the 2010 calendar year, and that number will go up in 2010 as automakers announce more HD Radio deals, he said.

OEM unit sales to consumers will somewhere between double and triple this year, he said, mostly due to increasing HD Radio availability, but a small part of the increase is due to the general car sales rebound. The percent of new vehicles sold with OEM HD radio will exceed 5 percent in calendar 2010, up from the previous year’s 2-3 percent.

With OEM and CE retailer sales rising, iBiquity estimates the installed base exceeded 3 million units at the end of June, based on the company’s royalty reports.