From Rain Sensors to Wireless Charging: 10 Tech Features Car Buyers Want

A wireless charger is now the most desired car feature among new-vehicle buyers. The ability to forget about a USB cable and not drain the battery topped the list of 163 features AutoPacific asked about in its annual Future Demand Study. Nearly 15,000 people looking to buy a new car in the next three years responded to the survey, with 44 percent checking the box for wireless charging for front passengers.

Market research data is quite instructive; when we test new cars, they increasingly come with features or gadgets that don’t seem necessary—for example, an additional infotainment screen for the front-seat passenger or remote parking via a smartphone app. Sometimes, these features are downright mandatory—several luxury brands won’t let you order some cars without a glass sunroof.

Product planners justify these decisions by saying they respond to customer demand, so it’s worth looking at the sources that influence this.

Second place was shared by a second wireless charger for the rear seats and heated and ventilated seats, each chosen by 37 percent, slightly ahead of rain-sensing wipers (36 percent).

The aforementioned sunroof (or sliding roof) shared fifth place (35 percent) with the ability to store more than one driver profile. Interestingly, this feature has gained popularity over the years, rising from the 19th most requested spot in 2022 to the 10th most requested spot in 2023. More and more automakers are switching to Android Automotive OS, which uses Google accounts to seamlessly bring a driver’s digital life into their vehicle; others are building their own solutions in private clouds, but either way, it’s increasingly being built into every new car we test. (It’s probably time for me to get a Google account so I can test these features in AAOS cars in the future, too.)

The seventh-most common feature on the list is a feature that requires a car to be electrified—a 110-volt household outlet (34 percent). Ford’s highly coveted Maverick hybrid pickup truck—now with all-wheel drive, too—is a good example, and some EVs offer enough on-board energy to power a small outdoor office or movie theater.

I’m not sure I remember seeing rear sunshades on a car — I probably didn’t look — but a third of survey respondents would like them on their next vehicle. Only 32 percent expressed interest in rear cross-traffic alert with automatic emergency braking.

I’m surprised this safety technology hasn’t been rated higher – its value can be easily demonstrated when reversing into a crowded parking lot, with the spaces on either side of your car taken up by giant SUVs and pickups. Perhaps the other two-thirds only reverse into parking spaces? It’s certainly safer and a lot easier now that backup cameras have been required by law for several years.

Finally, 31 percent of those who responded to AutoPacific also said a built-in air compressor would also be on their list. Interestingly, hands-free driving technology like Super Cruise or Autopilot did not make the top 10.

Price sensitive

But perhaps unresponsive driver detection should take first place. AutoPacific says the idea has been represented by two different options: a system that stops the car in its lane and a system that pulls over to the side of the road if the driver is unresponsive. Combined (45 percent), demand for the two features exceeded demand seen in 2023 (43 percent) for the less well-defined unresponsive driver system.

AutoPacific also factored in the average amount people were willing to pay for each of these features, which goes a long way toward explaining the ubiquitous glass roofs mentioned earlier. New-car buyers are willing to pay an average of $800 to let the sun or moon shine down on them, far more than for any other item on the list. That average was $550 for heated and ventilated front seats, but only $150 for rear cross-traffic alert. None of the other features exceeded $100.