2009 Navigation Usage and Satisfaction Study

As America’s roads become more congested and daily commute times grow longer by the day, consumers are increasingly looking to technology for some relief. More and more, drivers are looking to their vehicle’s navigation system to help identify—and avoid—trouble spots along the way.

In fact, a recent J.D. Power and Associates survey of nearly 17,000 customers who purchased or leased new 2009 model-year vehicles with factory-installed navigation systems reveals that real-time traffic information, as well as voice recognition, is becoming an increasingly popular feature. The 2009 Navigation Usage and Satisfaction Study finds that 26 percent of owners report having a factory-installed navigation system equipped with real-time traffic capabilities—twice the proportion of owners in 2008 who said the same. Among owners whose systems do not currently have the real-time traffic feature, nearly 80 percent report interest in having the option in the future. Real-time traffic capability has a considerable impact on overall navigation system satisfaction, as satisfaction averages 8.1 (on a 10-point scale) among owners with the feature, compared with 7.3 among those without.

With regard to voice recognition, approximately 60 percent of owners report having the feature on their factory-installed navigation system, according to the study. Among those owners who do not currently have the feature, two-thirds of respondents express an interest in having it in the future. Further, overall navigation system satisfaction is positively impacted by the presence of voice recognition. Among owners who report having the feature, satisfaction averages 7.7 compared with an average of 7.2 among owners of systems without voice recognition technology.

“Among the 10 navigation systems with the highest levels of customer satisfaction, all of them have real-time traffic capabilities, and a majority are equipped with voice recognition—underlining the positive effect these advanced features have on overall navigation system satisfaction,” said Mike Marshall, director of automotive emerging technologies at J.D. Power and Associates. “With 39 percent of consumers in the study reporting that they would have purchased another vehicle if navigation wasn’t available (up from 31 percent in 2006) there is a growing segment of automotive consumers who are driven by technology. Integrating and delivering advanced user-facing technology in vehicles will continue to gain importance among manufacturers fighting for market share.”