Everyone Has This In Their Car Now But Fewer People Want It

These days, every time a new car is launched, the automaker behind it delights in telling us about the incredible connected services technology the fancy digital touchscreen puts at the drivers disposal. But a new study shows many drivers don’t really want to know, and they definitely don’t want to pay for it.

Automakers usually provide between one and three years of connectivity free, after which the drivers must sign up to a subscription to continues using the tech. But despite more new cars than ever offering connected services, the number of people subscribing to them dropped in 2025 for the second year running, according to data from S&P Global Mobility. Only 68 percent polled this year said they would pay for connected services, down from 68 percent in 2024.

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Drivers were asked whether they were connected via a free trail, had an active paid-for subscription, weren’t connected, or didn’t know. In the US and other Western countries, including the UK, Germany and France, as well as Japan and Brazil, those answering that they didn’t have access to connected services were the largest single groups. 

But US drivers were the most likely of those to have a subscription, 19 percent saying they were currently hooked-up in a free trial and 35 percent saying they were paying for services, versus 38 percent who claimed they weren’t connected. Only China, South Korea and India had more active users overall – in China only 10 percent aren’t connected – but only because they had at least twice as many free-trial users as America.

Why Don’t Drivers Want to Pay?

Drivers taking part in the study gave a few reasons for not wanting to pay for connected services, and one of the biggies was that ‘paying’ element. When you’ve already got (and are paying for) a smartphone that offers excellent navigation, which can be viewed through your car’s touchscreen, why would you want to pay for the same service again? Respondents also said they disliked features being built into a car but hidden behind a paywall.

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Privacy is another major concern, with drivers expressing worries about how their data might be collected, stored and used. We’ve already reported on how automakers have hit legal trouble over their handling of driver data, and fears of data breaches gives drivers another reason to stay unconnected.

Satisfaction Exists, But Growth May Be Tough

The study found that drivers who did experience connected services were generally happy, though the level of satisfaction is lower than in previous years. It looks like automakers such as GM and Stellantis, who each predicted they would make around $23-25 million annually through subscriptions, are going to need to work hard to entice drivers to sign up in the coming years.

So, what kind of features would you be willing to pay a subscription for? Tell us by dropping a comment below.