CTA: OEMs must tailor in-car payment services to meet individual market demands

The 2025 Drive Research User Experience Report highlights the need for OEMs to optimise in-car payment functionality to satisfy driver demand and unlock new revenue streams. However, while there are many similarities between the attitudes and service demands of the American and German drivers who participated in this research, there are several significant differences we wanted to highlight. This demonstrates the need for OEMs to tailor connected car experiences to different markets to address local driver needs and avoid losing customers to competition.

Drivers in both the US and Germany reported a significant interest in having in-car payment functionality for driving-related services in their vehicles. However, notable differences between European and North American drivers’ demands were seen across other areas. 

This interest in connected services extended to the majority of drivers in both countries, with participants stating that they would be ‘frustrated’ if in-car payments were available nearby and their car failed to inform them. However, while a large majority of US participants (80%) would be annoyed by not being informed about in-car payment availability, that fell to a still significant 57% of Germans, who had a slightly lower tolerance for notifications, even if this is in favour of convenience.

While US drivers overall demonstrated an even greater desire for in-car payments than German participants, they were also more likely to be put off by poor usability, highlighting the need for OEMs to not only offer in-car payments but to ensure that these are intelligently optimised to make them easy and enjoyable to use, in particular when behind the wheel. 87% of US drivers would be discouraged or deterred from using in-car payments if multiple menu screens were needed to confirm transactions, with this figure falling to 63% among German participants.

US drivers also had an openness for in-car payments for non-driving-related services, too, covering features such as gaming or messaging, with two-thirds of American participants seeing value in these, compared with just 30% of German drivers. As a result, OEMs may choose to include these to cater for drivers when parked for prolonged periods, such as when charging, but they should ensure they do not block or hide core driving functionality, what we refer to as vehicle-centric services, which would irritate significantly more drivers than gaming or messaging functionality would satisfy, according to the research.

In-car payments becoming an essential feature

OEMs may have previously considered in-car payments a ‘nice-to-have’ feature, however, data from the User Experience Report challenges this view, with in-car payment functionality having a significant impact upon both the drivers’ opinion of car brands and the likelihood of them purchasing a car from that brand in future. This means that failing to offer easy-to-use, engaging in-car payments, or offering substandard, disjointed integrations could lose OEMs customers and significant vehicle sales, rather than being a cost-saving to the businesses.

Nearly all US participants (97%) stated that in-car payment functionality would significantly improve their opinion of a car brand. A lower proportion of German drivers said that their view would be impacted by in-car payments, though the majority (60%) still cited this as a factor that would have a notably positive impact on how they perceived a car brand. This shows that in-car payments serve as a significant selling point to both European and North American drivers.

In addition, 87% of US participants would be more likely to purchase a car from the same brand in future if it had in-car payment functionality. This compares to 57% of German drivers, showing that high-quality connected car services can act as a key differential to increase brand loyalty across markets.

Willingness to pay for in-car payment functionality, but desired payment method varies

The 2025 Drive Research User Experience Report shows that in-car payment functionality continues to be in demand across drivers, however, the US and Germany have very different views on how they want to pay to access this functionality. 

Confirming and quantifying drivers’ willingness to pay, 77% of US drivers are willing to pay more for in-car payment functionality, with 36% of those drivers being open to paying more than $700 upfront, with a further 21% open to a cost of $300 to $500 and 36% more willing to pay $150 to $300. German drivers who were open to paying an upfront premium for in-car payments, meanwhile, all stated that they would pay €150 to €300 for this functionality.

Drivers in the US favour paying a higher initial price to have this feature available, with 47% open to paying a premium when purchasing a vehicle for lifetime access, compared with 30% who are open to subscriptions. However, it is important to consider that this research was carried out prior to the various stages of ‘US tariffs’ that have been partially introduced and discussed at length across the automotive industry. As a result, US drivers could be more likely to opt for subscription payments in future, potentially overtaking German motorists, to avoid price increases imposed upon higher initial prices, if subscription services remain exempt from the tariff increases. 

Meanwhile, 53% of German drivers would prefer to pay a monthly subscription, compared with just 20% who were willing to pay a higher upfront price. As a result, OEMs need to ensure they provide a variety of flexible payment methods to cater to all driver preferences so they do not miss out on customers who are willing to pay, but not via a one-size-fits-all pricing or payment format.

In-car payments ‘user-friendliness’ is vital

The User Experience Report shows that in-car payment functionality continues to increase in popularity and demand. While this is likely still regarded as a premium feature today, it is quickly transitioning to an essential feature for many drivers in the near future, as automaker rollouts continue and familiarity of the service grows. However, OEMs must make sure that when adding in-car payment functionality, they consider how easy systems are to use, prioritising value-add, engagement and ease-of-use to minimise distractions behind the wheel via the number of screens needed, and ensure that basic features are intuitive to find and use.

With drivers spending nearly one month a year in their vehicles on average and new vehicles globally becoming more uniform due to similar electric powertrains being offered more widely, in-car technology is increasingly becoming a key differentiator for buyers. Well-designed systems can persuade drivers to choose one vehicle over another, while poorly executed systems are likely to put off drivers from purchasing from brands that otherwise appeal to them. 

Finally, the changing nature of US tariffs and recent automaker changes to packaging or bundling of connected services mean that usage and interest in subscriptions to access valued in-car payment functionality is likely to become more popular, giving OEMs greater scope to either sell these services to both those purchasing new cars and used car buyers, or to use them as a key tool in acquiring, and retaining, new customers to the brand.