New survey reveals how many people consider CarPlay a must-have in a new car

I’ve written a lot about CarPlay over the years, including questioning GM’s decision to drop CarPlay on all of its electric vehicles. Now a new survey details the importance of CarPlay for people buying a new car, with a third of consumers considering it an absolute must-have.

The survey, conducted by McKinsey & Company and shared by Automotive News, found that 30% of people worldwide who buy an electric car consider the lack of CarPlay support to be a deciding factor. This figure is slightly higher for people buying ICE cars, with 35% of buyers saying they wouldn’t buy a car if it wasn’t compatible with CarPlay.

If you limit the survey to only purchases made in the United States, the numbers change slightly – but CarPlay remains a key factor. According to the survey, 25% of electric vehicle buyers in the United States said they would not buy a car without CarPlay. Meanwhile, 38% of ICE car buyers shared the same sentiment.

The survey also asked car buyers if they would be willing to pay more for smartphone integration, with 30% of EV buyers and 17% of ICE buyers saying they would be willing to do so.

Take from 9to5Mac

Although this survey shows that CarPlay is a key factor for many car buyers, the numbers are lower than I expected.

Last year, I surveyed more than 6,000 9to5Mac readers with the question: “Would you buy a car without CarPlay?”

• Yes: 734 votes or 11.42%
• No: 5,138 votes or 79.94%
• Maybe: 555 votes or 8.64%

At the time, I noted that the results were far from surprising due to the demographic makeup of 9to5Mac’s audience. I was nevertheless surprised that the “no” received almost 80% of the votes.

At WWDC 2021, alongside the introduction of next-generation CarPlay, Apple said, “79% of U.S. buyers are only considering CarPlay-enabled vehicles.”

Is consumer interest in CarPlay waning? I doubt it, but McKinsey & Company’s results buck the trend. The haphazard rollout of next-gen CarPlay certainly doesn’t improve brand perception either.