Survey hunts for young buyer trends

A new survey by firm Deloitte claims to let automakers into the heads of Generation Y buyers. What is it they want out of a new car? Hybrid tech, mobile device integration and safety, apparently.

The survey showed 59 percent of consumers aged 19 to 31 are interested in hybrid or electric vehicles, and only 37 would prefer pure-gasoline cars, reports AutoNews.

It found device connectivity was something they felt strong about, too: nearly 75 percent want touch-screens in-car, and 59 percent listed in-dash tech as a car interior priority.  

Driving assists like collision avoidance technology was important to man Gen Y-ers, too, a Deloitte representative said. "It's almost as if they're saying 'I'm going to be distracted, so I want the car to give me protection from myself,'" said the firm's Craig Giffi.

Most interestingly, the survey found "millenials" were willing to pay a premium of a few thousand dollars for these features (that goes for the device connectivity, too).

Derek Kreindler of The Truth About Cars calls that, and several of the survey's other results, into question. What Gen Y-ers are looking for, he argues, is cars they can, y'know, actually afford (I concur).

Exactly how interested Gen Y-ers like himself are in hybrids or touchscreens is debatable too, he says. (Again, concur.)

This may have something to do with sample bias: the annual survey polls only 1,500 U.S. Generation Y consumers, as well as 250 from China and 300 from western Europe. Maybe we young Canadians are a little different?

(AutoNews and TTAC)