Unique Study Looks at Which Car Technologies Will Create Best Customer Experience

A recent Loyalty360 article talked about how, as technology continues to become more complex, customer experience efforts must become more compelling to ensure that consumers are equipped to receive the best possible value from their purchases. What’s more, this dynamic is especially apparent in automotive sales, thanks to the impact of various technology systems being implemented in vehicles of all makes and models.
Testing and experimenting with these car technologies, and finding which ones provide the best customer experience, are critical to ensuring comfort and convenience in cars of the future.

In that vein, DENSO International America attempted to help shape the future of mobility by enlisting University of Michigan-Dearborn students in a car sharing study known as MDrive.

DENSO, a global automotive supplier, with support from Detroit-based NextEnergy, an accelerator of advanced energy and mobility technologies, launched the study to determine what technologies may be needed for a new car sharing segment. The students will provide feedback about car sharing and offer insights on helpful or unnecessary features in current car models.

“DENSO is helping drive the future of mobility solutions through this research and testing in a real-world environment,” said Michael Bima, a lead engineer in the North American Research and Engineering Center at DENSO International America. “Our goal is to learn more about what technologies are most needed in car share vehicles of the future. And this will help us collect user feedback to design products for the car sharing market.”

According to the study, 30 pre-selected students attending the University of Michigan-Dearborn and living at The Union at Dearborn will have access to a set of three Ford Focus Electric vehicles. Participants will reserve, share, and use these vehicles on a daily basis to run errands, meet friends for dinner, or even catch a concert downtown in exchange for feedback on their driving and sharing experience.

Phase one of the study will focus on car sharing with a small group of users at one location where the vehicles are returned to a set location. Current car sharing programs have been open to the general public and allow for one-way trips. DENSO is the first to gather user feedback and study the need for car share-specific technologies for people who live, work, and frequent one location. DENSO will present the study results at the 2017 SAE World Congress.

“MDrive is a great opportunity for University of Michigan-Dearborn students to participate in an eco-friendly, alternative transportation option on campus,” said University of Michigan-Dearborn chancellor Daniel Little. “Our students will be among the few who have the potential to influence the new technology decision-making process for vehicle sharing products, services and business models.”

In North America, DENSO employs more than 23,000 people at 30 consolidated companies and affiliates. Of these, 28 are manufacturing facilities located in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. 

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