Encouraging the adoption for self-driving cars

The Challenge

A household brand in the automotive industry is pioneering the development of self-driving technology, but before it could move into the production of its first fully autonomous vehicle, the manufacturer needed to understand consumer sentiment and psychology towards self-driving cars. Our client turned to BCG Platinion to uncover their concerns which could be addressed through the design of its prototype.

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The Approach

BCG Platinion adopted a human-centered design approach by identifying early adopters to unpack their expectations and mental models through user research that evaluated over 80 potential concepts with the test group. Based on the insights, BCG Platinion moved to rapidly design a prototype, building IoT devices into a foam board model of the car and testing ideas without the cost of high fidelity mock-ups. Summative testing revealed further improvements in usability that would help consumers embrace self-driving vehicles and make commuting and traveling in urban areas safer.

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The Impact

1. 8 MVP requirements for service design
2. 25 critical customer features designed across 6 in-car channels
3. 5 customer personas uncovered with distinct mobility requirements

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Looking Into the Future

IoT and automation will continue to push the automotive industry to rethink the concept of mobility and transportation. Despite the progress, if manufacturers do not address customer anxiety over safety, the advent of self-driving cars will stall. By addressing customer concerns in the actual design of its vehicles, our client is in a poll position to win over customers in the race to dominate autonomous manufacturing.

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