1 In 5 Want Car Stereo: CEA Study

ARLINGTON, VA. — A study by the Consumer Electronics Association (CEA) found that a significant number of consumers, 21 percent, plan to buy a premium aftermarket-installed system in the next 12 months, and a greater number of consumers, 27 percent, plan to buy a portable aftermarket car electronics product.

The study also found that while more consumers plan to buy a sound system than last year, they plan to spend less. Consumers polled in December 2007 said they will spend $339 on average for an aftermarket system over the next 12 months, while in 2007, those who bought a system said they spent $590 on average.

If you narrow the focus to younger drivers, specifically those aged 16 to 24 years old, the disparity in planned spending is even greater. Last year, young drivers who bought a system said they spent $848 on average, and those intending to buy a system this year expect to spend $270.

These and other findings were part of a CEA study of 1,128 U.S. consumers aged 16 and older.

Here are some other findings from the study:

Drivers say they use their cellphone 20 percent of the time while driving.

Eighty-six percent of people still want a CD mechanism in their head unit (vs. a mechless model), but if you look at 16 to 24 years olds, then only 77 percent want a CD mechanism in their head unit.

Thirty-seven percent of those studied want satellite radio in their head unit, but looking at younger drivers specifically, then 63 percent want satellite radio.

Nine percent of those studied own a portable GPS and 5 percent own satellite radio.

The total universe of all consumer electronics purchased and used in the car annually is approximately $40 billion and is expected to remain stable in 2008. This includes cellular phones, portable DVD players, gaming devices, laptop computers, car alarms, MP3 players, radar detectors, car security and vehicle tracking, installed car audio/video and other products.

Demographic background statistics offered by CEA at a recent webcast on automotive electronics were as follows:

Consumers spend an average of 17 hours a week in their vehicle.

The number of people in the United States of driving age is 239 million

The total population of 16- and 17-year-olds is 8 million

15.5 million new cars are expected to sell this year, down from the 17 million sold annually during 2001 through 2006.

Forty-three percent of the cars on the road are year 2000 and newer. Among 16- to 24-years-olds, 44 percent own a car that is year 2000 or earlier and 34 percent own a car from 2001 to 2005.

Twenty percent of young drivers own a car that is 2006 or newer.