• by Chuck Martin , Staff Writer, December 11, 2018

While consumers may not be ready for self-driving cars, they’re about to be faced with an increasing amount of in-car connectivity leading to more consumer spending while in cars.

An estimated 775 million consumer vehicles will be connected via telematics or by in-vehicle apps by 2023, growing 19% annually from 330 million this year, according to a new study by Juniper Research.

Juniper defines telematics as ‘the use of wireless technologies and in-vehicle information technology to relay information to and from vehicles, with the aim of improving the driver experience or providing additional information and analysis to the driver or a third party.’

Just over a million cars will be capable of vehicle-to-vehicle (V2V) communications next year, but that number is projected to balloon to more than 62 million by 2023, a growth rate of 173%.

A connected car is not necessarily an autonomous vehicle, but it is where marketing, advertising and commerce will become a logical fit. Total spending over connected car ecommerce platforms will reach $265 billion by 2023, according to Juniper.

Usage of voice assistants in cars is also projected to increase, with more than 370 million in-vehicle voice assistants being accessed by 2023. This means voice assistants will have to be enabled to access a vehicle’s basic functionality, such as climate control, while manufacturers prioritize security of data and driver distraction, according the Juniper study.

AT&T already has 24 million connected cars in 200 countries on its network along with another 3 million connected fleet vehicles.

The new 5G speeds coming will be a big driver of car connectivity. While the current 4G speeds focused on consumer-oriented services like infotainment and in-car applications, 5G will enable vehicle-to-everything services.

The new speeds can facilitate new connected car payment services, such as for fuel payment, automatic toll road payments, vehicle monitoring and maintenance, third-party retail apps and automatic parking payments.

These cars won’t drive themselves, but they will make many tasks easier on the driver.