In our report about South African car drivers that we dissected from earlier research by consulting firm, Accenture, we concluded that, “65.5% of the drivers who took part in their research where more inclined to buy a motor vehicle because of its technology rather than performance. This is a clear shift in aggregate purchasing influence.” Hence, we've been following events at the current Geneva Motor Show being held in Switzerland's capital. More importantly is the Mercedes-Benz stand, which we think has been the most exciting, and the following is why.

In the past year, Mercedes-Benz and its performance partner AMG have rolled out at least 6 new models of their cars, and in many different variants. The centrepieces have the C-Class, A45 AMG, and the new S-Class. Of the so-called Big 3 German Luxury car makers, only Merc has made dramatic changes to the overlooks of its cars from their very previous generations, and with spectacular success. The Stuttgart, Germany-based auto company narrowed the gap in worldwide volumes against both Audi and world number 1, BMW. A recent Forbes Magazine article also explained how rightly priced Merc has been in the United States to buyers who would otherwise opt for a more expensive option with mostly the same performance as what Merc is currently offering. This has also helped increase used Mercedes-Benz sales. But again, that's been a play on the looks and performance. And for buyers in general, not just South Africans (as Accenture's more in-depth report suggested) but many other countries, technology is the main attraction in the showrooms.

The other important finding was that, “13% of the drivers surveyed said it was important for their car and devices to use the same OS, while another 39% said it wasn't important. That 13% is sure to rise as more and more South Africans become comfortable with smart devices.” This is where things get interesting for those of you who are considering buying a Mercedes-Benz, and/or already/want to use Apple products. The maker of mobile phones and the very popular iPod has teamed up with various car makers to offer its i-Operating System on cars like Merc's. Following the unveiling at the Geneva Motor Show, Apple Inc and Mercedes-AMG distributed a Press Release stating details about the new interface.

“CarPlay has been designed from the ground up to provide drivers with an incredible experience using their iPhone in the car,” said Greg Joswiak, Apple’s vice president of iPhone and iOS Product Marketing. “iPhone users always want their content at their fingertips and CarPlay lets drivers use their iPhone in the car with minimized distraction. We have an amazing line-up of auto partners rolling out CarPlay.”

Rewind to 2013 when Ford launched their SYNC platform based on Microsoft NE. That's proven to be a failure, and an update to that infotainment is due later this year based on BlackBerry's infrastructure. That's cool and all, but it's a Ford dedicated system, which could spell trouble for the automaker if it is to compete with the Mercedes of this world, who have partnered with the most innovative technology company.

Of course, not everyone uses the Apple ecosystem, and how the likes of Benz and others will get Android users is the bigger question here. Will you, the buyer who has an Samsung or Sony, powered by Google's Android feel neglected by Mercedes whose cars integrated with Apple's products, or will you switch to the world of Apple, thereby making that a win for Merc. Or will you shun away from that Mercedes-Benz C-Class and opt for an alternative car that uses Android?

The biggest winners here will be those car makers who make their infotainment technology usable between the different technologies out there and not be confined to just one.

For more about the Accenture report, visit the link here.

Author: Pierre Theron