Car Audio Strikes Up a New Tune

Montreal, Canada, April 26, 2009 --(PR.com)-- Electronics.ca Publications, the electronics industry market research and knowledge network, announces the availability of a new report entitled "The World Market for In-Vehicle Audio Systems".

Car audio is important, but what's important in car audio? The rush of vehicle manufacturers to accommodate the changing preferences of audio consumers proves that car makers, at least, view audio features as a key differentiator.

Is it sound quality consumers look for? A car is not the ideal acoustic environment for a concert experience, and for many years factory-fitted car audio was kept inexpensive and basic. Eventually, prestigious audio brands such as Harman, Bose, and Bang & Olufsen were brought in to work closely with vehicle manufacturers to design systems that addressed such challenges as overcoming road noise and creating a sound stage to serve the relative positions of drivers and passengers.

However, despite lots of attention, a new report available at Electronics.ca Publications shows that this type of premium sound system is still a relatively small market found only in 7.9% of all light vehicles produced in 2008.

So what is the focus of consumer demand? A potential buyer today is more likely to look at what types of connectivity the audio system is offering; USB connection, SD card slot, Bluetooth slots etc. Basically, what is interesting is what types of portable music devices you can bring into the car (without having to upgrade the audio system). Radio and music can be listen to and stored in so many ways: mobile phones; iPods; thumb drives and SD cards. So what a growing category of people is looking for in a car audio system is the possibility to bring that versatility into the car basically to take your life with you into the car.

Helena Perslow, the author of the above mentioned report, agrees: "It's not uncommon nowadays for people to be drawn to a particular car for one reason alone: the type of portable device connectivity offered, for example iPod connection. The deciding factor is not necessarily fuel consumption or CO2 emission but often something as simple as a car audio feature."

Car manufacturers have acknowledged this, and car models aimed at a younger generation are competing by offering portable device connectivity as standard equipment, whereas many luxurious cars such as BMW and Cadillac only offer them as optional extras.

Details of the new report, table of contents and ordering information can be found on Electronics.ca Publications' web site. View the report: http://www.electronics.ca/publications/products/The-World-Market-for-In%252dVehicle-Audio-Systems.html

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