For the last several decades obtaining a driver’s license has stood as the rite of passage from childhood to adulthood in the United States, but Apple’s iPhone is starting to change all that. According to a new study, most teenagers are more interested in smartphones than cars.
A new study by research firm Gartner found that 46 percent of people between the ages of 18 and 24 would choose internet access over the keys to their own car. In comparison, just 15 percent of baby boomers would choose the internet over their own car.
“The iPhone is the Ford Mustang of today,” Thilo Koslowski, lead automotive analyst for Gartner, said.
Most car makers are just starting to explore how devices like smartphones can impact new car sales, but there are legitimate concerns. In recent years Japan has seen its younger generations widely abandon the automobile, resulting in dramatically reduced sales.
“We are not looking at this to ask how we can get teens to buy a car versus an iPhone,” said K. Venkatesh Prasad, senior technical leader of open innovation at Ford. “Instead, the car has to become more than just a car. It has to become an experience.”
That user experience will likely be key to future vehicles sales. With teens caring less and less about cars, future sales could be won or lost over in-car technologies rather than horsepower and performance figures.
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1.’Teens desire smartphones…’ view
