Photo: Collage of Mercedes-Benz official image and luma photography on Flickr
When people (industry people and analysts alike) talk about the benefits of autonomous vehicles, one group of people that is very often featured in the discussion is that of the elderly.
These people are either unable to drive, or they regard it as a necessary evil, with the joy of controlling a vehicle long gone for them. It's even worse for those who can't do it anymore, sentencing them to a life of dependency on others, or one that could very well be described as house-arrest.
Needless to say, everybody went on to predict a very high demand for autonomous cars in the ranks of those over or around 60 years of age. “For the first time in history, older people are going to be the lifestyle leaders of a new technology,” said Joseph Coughlin, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab in Cambridge talking to Bloomberg. “Younger people may have had smartphones in their hands first, but it’s the 50-plus consumers who will be first with smart cars.”
Wouldn't that be something? Next thing you know, you'll run into your grandfather in the line for Play Station 5. Seriously, though, the assertion that the so-called Baby Boomers (the people born after World War II and up until 1964) would make prime customers for self-driving vehicles does make sense, but it appears it's being contradicted by a new survey.
The study carried out by J.D. Power in the US covered more varied aspects of new in-car technology, but the most interesting one reflects the openness to self-driving cars based on the subjects' age, and the results are only surprising based on what we've been told so far. The findings show that the willingness to embrace this new technology decreases with age, placing the Baby Boomers on the second to last spot, just above the Pre-Boomers.
Only 23 percent of those born between 1946 and 1964 would trust the driverless cars, trailing Generations X (41 percent), Z (55 percent), and Y (56 percent). The situation is even worse for our target group when it comes to alternative mobility types (sharing/co-ownership, journey-based ownership and mobility on demand): here, the percentage of Baby Boomers who said they would definitely/probably be interested is just above 10%, as opposed to Generation Y (1977-1994) which sits just above 45%.
So, if you were planning to buy your Nana an autonomous car for her birthday, you should probably talk to her about it first, get a feel on where she stands on the matter, and only then go and splash the money.
Needless to say, everybody went on to predict a very high demand for autonomous cars in the ranks of those over or around 60 years of age. “For the first time in history, older people are going to be the lifestyle leaders of a new technology,” said Joseph Coughlin, director of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology’s AgeLab in Cambridge talking to Bloomberg. “Younger people may have had smartphones in their hands first, but it’s the 50-plus consumers who will be first with smart cars.”
Wouldn't that be something? Next thing you know, you'll run into your grandfather in the line for Play Station 5. Seriously, though, the assertion that the so-called Baby Boomers (the people born after World War II and up until 1964) would make prime customers for self-driving vehicles does make sense, but it appears it's being contradicted by a new survey.
The study carried out by J.D. Power in the US covered more varied aspects of new in-car technology, but the most interesting one reflects the openness to self-driving cars based on the subjects' age, and the results are only surprising based on what we've been told so far. The findings show that the willingness to embrace this new technology decreases with age, placing the Baby Boomers on the second to last spot, just above the Pre-Boomers.
Only 23 percent of those born between 1946 and 1964 would trust the driverless cars, trailing Generations X (41 percent), Z (55 percent), and Y (56 percent). The situation is even worse for our target group when it comes to alternative mobility types (sharing/co-ownership, journey-based ownership and mobility on demand): here, the percentage of Baby Boomers who said they would definitely/probably be interested is just above 10%, as opposed to Generation Y (1977-1994) which sits just above 45%.
So, if you were planning to buy your Nana an autonomous car for her birthday, you should probably talk to her about it first, get a feel on where she stands on the matter, and only then go and splash the money.
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