According to new ThinkGoodMobility research by Goodyear

• A majority of Millennials (55.7%) believe launching an affordable car that can keep up with the latest technologies will be a key challenge over the next 10 years
• Smart safety features are young people’s top choice (47.4%)  for the change they would like to see most in mobility by 2025
• When it comes to driverless cars, the biggest perceived benefit is reduced traffic accidents (60.9%), and their biggest concerns are reliability (55.5%) and affordability (45.7%)
• Goodyear’s new ThinkGoodMobility research focusses on Millennials’ views on Mobility of the Future in 2025 and questioned future scientists, engineers and designers in 12 European markets

Across the globe, the need for mobility is increasing and developing, due to a combination of population growth, economic development and advances in technology. This prompted the latest research from Goodyear.

“ThinkGoodMobility” surveyed more than 2500 university students (aged 18-30) from 12 countries, studying science, technology, engineering, art and design, and maths.

Smart safety features are most important change in mobility

The research indicates that the most prevalent and desirable new transport technologies for Millennials will be those that improve safety. When asked what changes they would most like to see in mobility by 2025, nearly half of the young people surveyed (47.4%) opted for smart safety features, while a similarly high proportion (39%) were keen that their vehicles would communicate with other cars to anticipate sudden changes and adapt to them.

The most popular features for tires are sensors that show when tires do not operate under the conditions optimal for safety (41.2%), and hence should be checked or changed. This suggests an interest in connectivity features as well as intelligent systems and demonstrates that safety is paramount to young people when it comes to the adoption of new technology.

“Millennials are extremely adept when it comes to technology, so it’s unsurprising that they would want smart and connected cars in the next ten years,” said Carlos Cipollitti, general director at the Goodyear Innovation Centre in Luxembourg. “It is very good to see that safety is equally important. Within Goodyear, safety is certainly at the core of our innovation journey.  We constantly look into the latest technologies. So the combination of the car’s safety systems and our tires can deliver an even higher level of performance.”

Concerns on vehicle autonomy relate to safety

The driverless car is currently an area of focus for both the automotive industry and the IT industry. However, when asked what level of autonomy young people want in their cars in 2025, only 22. 4% want their car to be fully autonomous. The vast majority would accept a basic or medium level of autonomy.

The survey shows the main reason for this is a lack of confidence. The biggest hurdle to autonomous cars is that they believe reliability is an issue, identified by 55.5% of respondents. This is followed by affordability (45.7%) and security and privacy concerns (38.5%).

When Millennials were asked what they saw as the most important future benefit of autonomous cars, the most popular choice was reduced traffic accidents, chosen by 60.9% of young people, followed by a stress-free ride (41.9%) and reduced traffic jams (39.7%).

Full results of the survey are available on ThinkGoodMobility.com.