Advanced Driver Assistance Systems (ADAS) represent one of the largest untapped profit pools in the automotive industry today. The proof: over 55% of consumers are willing to pay a premium for a vehicle offering the most advanced ADAS features. However, most OEMs are capturing only a fraction of ADAS’s potential value.
In recent years, manufacturers have largely put in place the technological foundations needed to support ADAS capabilities. The next challenge involves driving monetization. But to achieve this goal, OEMs first need to understand what’s preventing ADAS from gaining greater traction among consumers.
BCG and Bosch have conducted one of the largest surveys of ADAS users worldwide to gain better insight into consumer sentiments about the technology. The following action steps— aimed at boosting ADAS usage and monetization—are based on our findings.
Build Customer Awareness and Drive Adoption
Offering better consumer education—both at the point of sale and afterwards—can boost both trust and usage. At the same time, manufacturers need to improve awareness of leading-edge features that will be increasingly important in the cars of the future.
Close the awareness gap, especially with complex features.
Consumer awareness stands at around 95% for safety-related features (such as Automatic Emergency Braking, Lane Keep Assist, and Blind Spot Detection), around 80% for comfort/parking features, and around 75% for autonomy-frontier features. However, this awareness is often shallow. Users recognize the feature but do not fully understand when, where, or how to use it. The disconnect is clearly shown in driver behavior. Actual usage is lower than awareness for autonomy-frontier features, at 60%, and for safety-related features, at 75%. In short: High awareness does not always translate into active use. Consumers must experience features before they can really get to know them. As a result, OEMs should prioritize intuitive onboarding and easy activation paths.
Treat the activation rate as a product key performance indicator.
Some 25% of survey respondents report using ADAS features as often as possible. However, among respondents who are not regular users of particular features, 36% cite “not liking or needing the feature” and 22% point to “not understanding how to operate it” as key barriers to usage. This shows that engagement and design simplicity directly affect monetization. OEMs need to embed ADAS into the cockpit experience through clear visual indicators, simple activation paths, and minimal menu friction. With consumers unwilling to pay for features that they don’t use, OEMs must make activation intuitive to avoid idle features eroding value.
Train sales reps to be ADAS experts.
Around 60% of users turn to sales representatives to learn how the driver-assistance features in their vehicle work, yet few reps are equipped to explain specific ADAS functions. Some 45% of users in markets outside of China rely on online tutorials and around 30% still learn through trial-and-error. OEMs must treat education as a continuous journey—from digital onboarding to post-sale guided learning—using channels that are inside and outside the vehicle.
Make explainability a core requirement with human-machine interfaces.
Over 60% of users want to know what ADAS is doing and why. Real-time scene visualization and predictive cues reduce consumers’ reluctance to rely on algorithms and increase daily use. In addition, combining ADAS with the AI-based voice assistant in the vehicle’s cockpit has the potential to guide drivers on how to utilize driver assistance functions.
Fix false positives before scaling new features.
Over 40% of users have experienced unnecessary interventions. Following these incidents, 9% of Gen Z and 16% of premium-vehicle drivers permanently disable features. The lesson for OEMs: Adoption depends less on novelty and more on flawless execution and consistent performance. Before expanding their autonomy-frontier offerings, manufacturers must perfect the fundamentals that users depend on daily.
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Leverage Simple Pricing, Packaging, and Communications
Creating compelling ADAS value propositions is clearly an urgent task for manufacturers. The solution lies in understanding what different buyer groups want from pricing options, bundling, and product names.
Name ADAS features descriptively.
Some 63% of users outside China prefer literal ADAS names, such as Lane Keep Assist or Blind Spot Detection. Complex or marketing-driven labels reduce comprehension and trust. In China, safety-oriented names perform best, while in Western markets, clear naming signals transparency and engineering credibility.
Price simply, sell transparently.
Around 60% of buyers who purchased their vehicle outright prefer ADAS included in the base vehicle price rather than paying for a subscription. The proportion is 40% for buyers who financed their vehicle, indicating they are more open to subscriptions. Nevertheless, in every subsegment one-time payments are the preferred option. When it comes to bundling, over 55% of consumers in markets outside of China favor ADAS-specific bundles, while 33% prefer full itemization. Broad “tech packages” that mix ADAS with infotainment garner minimal support.
Apply the “AI-powered” label sparingly.
Labeling an ADAS system “AI-powered” polarizes opinion among consumers. Learning that a car with AI-powered ADAS has been involved in a fatal accident substantially eroded trust. Some 36% of consumers in markets outside of China trust explicitly AI-branded systems more, but 25% trust them less. After hearing of an AI-related crash, 40% of consumers worldwide report a substantial loss of trust.
Take a Localized Approach.
The ADAS formula that works successfully with Chinese consumers won’t easily travel. As a result, Chinese OEMs will need to adapt their playbook when expanding into new markets. There are several reasons why they will need a different approach.
- Social status as a buying criterion: 81% of Chinese drivers say having a vehicle with an ADAS system reflects positively on their social status. But in other markets, only about 35% to 50% of respondents feel the same way.
- How consumers learn about their ADAS system differs in China: 62% of Chinese users learn about the ADAS features in their vehicle via online sources—far more than in any other market.
- Trust in AI-based systems is higher: 80% of Chinese consumers would trust an AI-based ADAS system equally or more than a deterministic system. This compares with 65% for consumers outside China.
- Interlinked experiences: Chinese users choose ADAS for increased comfort, entertainment, and productivity. They view ADAS as facilitating an integrated cockpit experience—which is in stark contrast to other markets where safety and convenience are key concerns.
For OEMs, the primary challenge of ADAS has shifted from mastering the technology to maximizing monetization. Consumers are willing to pay a premium for the most advanced ADAS technology. But on the flip side, every feature that is unclear or does not actually solve a driver’s pain point risks jeopardizing ADAS revenues. Manufacturers that explain features transparently, fix reliability issues, and tailor their offerings to regional expectations will be best placed to maximize ADAS monetization.
