VIENNA, Va. -

Long gone are the days when your used-vehicle inventory was filled with units equipped only with hand-crank windows and cassette players. Now your store salespeople likely are highlighting late-model features such as collision detection and repair notifications.

Industry experts at Urgently predict that by the end of this decade, nearly all new vehicles sold globally will be connected. The company commissioned a consumer survey and released a report on Tuesday that examined the potential for vehicle connectivity to provide safe, transparent and exceptional mobility assistance experiences.

For more than 25 years, Urgently explained that connected car services have been evolving to include a growing array of safety and convenience features, including breakdown response, vehicle diagnostics and predictive assistance features, navigation, Internet connectivity, infotainment, payments and more.

“Vehicle connectivity is making it possible to move beyond reactive roadside response, to power diagnostics and the ability to proactively deliver a wide range assistance services to motorists before problems occur, avoiding the inconvenience of a breakdown,” said Chris Spanos, chief executive officer and co-founder of Urgently, which is designing a platform the firm said is at the center of expanding mobility and emerging connected assistance ecosystem for consumers, automotive, logistics and technology companies.

“Urgently is proud to be at the forefront of defining and developing the new connected assistance ecosystem, as we work to fulfill the potential for connected services to deliver safe, transparent and exceptional mobility assistance experiences,” Spanos continued in a news release

The report includes new data from Urgently’s Connectivity & Mobility Assistance Consumer Survey 2021, which determined that two-thirds (66%) of consumers view vehicle connectivity as roadside assistance, priming the market opportunity for connected services that expand the concept of roadside assistance.

According to the survey, the top six most desirable connected assistance features identified by U.S. consumers included:

— Early collision detection: 72.4%

— Likely dead battery detection: 72.2%

— Insurance policy discounts for safe driving: 69.7%

— Early repair detection: 68.9%

— Vehicle re-routing based on live traffic conditions: 68.4%

— Contact authorities/emergency services upon collision: 61.7%

Urgently also discovered consumers expressed their willingness to pay for a number of these features, including preemptive/preventive services, such as early collision detection, likely dead battery detection, and early repair detection.

Furthermore, the survey mentioned consumers also indicated their readiness for a broader range of connected assistance features, including:

— Driver fatigue detection and notification: 61.4%

— Fuel consumption based on your driving behavior: 61.4%

— Contact family/friends upon an incident with your location data: 60.2%

— Mobile mechanic battery check-up and maintenance: 59.9%

— Mobile mechanic tire check-up and maintenance: 57.9%

— Connect to your phone apps: 55.9%

— Contact insurance company in the event of an accident: 43.9%

Additional insights on consumer preferences related to vehicle connectivity and smart mobility assistance are included in the Urgently report titled, The Upshift to Smart Mobility Assistance: Connected Vehicles & the Road to Proactive Assistance, which can be downloaded via this website.