From Features to Journeys: Rethinking Connected Vehicle Services Value

What Escalent’s Connectivity Forward Research Reveals About Driver Journeys

Key Takeaways

• Drivers think in terms of journeys (e.g., commuting, road trips, towing, driving kids), not isolated features, so connected vehicle services deliver more value when designed around real-world driving contexts rather than static feature bundles.
• Grouping drivers by journey type (e.g., Road Trippers, Kid Drivers, Tow Drivers) exposes meaningful differences in vehicle connectivity needs, brand preferences and readiness to adopt connected car services—especially among smaller, high-engagement niche segments.
• A journey-first strategy helps OEMs deliver the right connected car services at the right time, strengthening differentiation, improving adoption, and unlocking long-term connected vehicle services revenue.

Connected vehicle strategies often start with features. But drivers don’t wake up thinking about vehicle features—they think about where they’re going and what they need to get there. That mismatch matters.

In an era of software-defined vehicles, competitive advantage comes not just from adding more connected vehicle capabilities, but from ensuring those capabilities show up in the moments that actually matter to drivers. When automakers shift their perspective from what can this technology do to when does this matter to the driver, the value of vehicle connectivity becomes clearer for customers and the business. That’s why designing connected vehicle services around real-world journeys creates stronger relevance, clearer differentiation and greater long-term adoption.

As part of Escalent’s Connectivity Forward study that identifies future adopters of connected vehicle services and the connectivity features that resonate with them, we analyzed how certain journeys trigger different needs for certain types of connected vehicle services.

In this blog, we examine how viewing vehicle connectivity through this journey lens, rather than a features framework, reveals new opportunities for automotive original equipment manufacturers (OEMs) to deliver real-world value at scale.

How Different Kinds of Vehicle Journeys Create Different Connected Vehicle Service Needs for Drivers

When it comes to driving, every trip triggers a different set of needs, contexts and opportunities for technology to add value. Shuttling kids between activities, embarking on long-distance road trips, commuting to work or hauling bulky items from a big box store all place different demands on the vehicle.

For example, weekly drives such as running errands (85%), commuting (76%) or driving oneself to activities (59%) are common and more frequent, necessitating in-vehicle connected features that enhance or improve the efficiency of these day-to-day journeys.

Less frequent journeys—such as road trips, business travel, towing or off-roading—constitute a different set of journey-specific needs and connected vehicle features that can fill the gap.

Drivers regularly shift between these distinct journey types, often within the same week or month. Yet connected vehicle services are frequently designed and marketed as static feature sets rather than as dynamic solutions that respond to changing use cases.

By framing mobility around these journey types, we can more clearly see how connected vehicle features align with real-world driving experiences and, therefore, build a connected vehicle services strategy that reflects how drivers actually use their vehicle and what needs arise when they do.

Why Segmenting Drivers by Journey Type Informs Connected Vehicle Feature Strategy

Our researchers segmented US survey respondents into the following clusters based on vehicle journey type:

• Road Trippers
• Errand Runners
• Commuters
• Leisure Drivers
• Bulk Carriers
• Business Travelers
• Kid Drivers
• Off Roaders
• Tow Drivers

Each cluster represents the share of new-vehicle buyers who stated they complete each journey type on a regular basis—some clusters are defined by weekly engagement while others are defined by a combination of weekly-monthly-annual engagement.

High-frequency journeys such as road trips, running errands and commuting to work are nearly universal among new-vehicle buyers. As such, clusters such as Road Trippers (91%), Errand Runners (85%) and Commuters (76%) best reflect how the majority of buyers use their vehicles.

On the other hand, lower frequency journeys such as driving kids, off-roading and towing aren’t as common, so each cluster—Kid Drivers (44%), Off Roaders (35%) and Tow Drivers (29%)—is more unique. We know this because we developed profiles for each journey-type cluster that define mean age and income, mainstream/luxury vehicle ownership, OEM app usage, familiarity with connectivity, interest in improving the passenger experience with connected solutions and average Connectivity Forward Adaption scores.

Although smaller in size, these more niche journey clusters demonstrate stronger connectivity engagement on a consistent basis and prove ready and willing to adopt connected vehicle services in the near term.

However, driver interest in connected vehicle service feature themes varies across journey clusters.

While we found that Safety, Security and Navigation features are foundational across nearly all journey types, each cluster brings its own priorities. For example:

• Road Trippers show the strongest need for integrated navigation and mapping features.
• Kid Drivers place a higher value on entertainment and user profiles, including the ability for drivers to upload their own personal profile to the vehicle upon entry.
• Tow Drivers, meanwhile, show a high need for vehicle maintenance services such as predictive vehicle maintenance and monitoring services.

Clustering drivers by journey type also reveals meaningful differences in vehicle brand preference.

Tow Drivers, for example, are more likely to seek vehicles from Ford and Chevrolet, while Road Trippers tend to consider Jeep and Kid Drivers are more likely to look at BMW.

Understanding which brands over-index within specific journey clusters can help OEMs better assess how customers use their vehicles in the real world and identify opportunities to strengthen OEMs’ connected vehicle services offerings.

At the same time, smaller and more niche journey clusters highlight opportunities where OEMs can experiment and push boundaries with targeted connected vehicle service offerings.

Designing Connected Vehicle Services Around How Drivers Actually Use Their Vehicles

As vehicles continue to evolve into software-defined platforms, the opportunity for OEMs is no longer simply to add more connected vehicle features, but to deliver the right services at the right moments. Our journey-based framework demonstrates that drivers’ expectations for vehicle connectivity are shaped less by who they are and more by how they use their vehicles.

By grounding a connected vehicle services strategy in real-world journeys, whether that’s towing, family transportation or long-distance travel, OEMs can create experiences that feel intuitive, valuable and worth paying for. This approach strengthens differentiation, supports adoption and helps unlock long-term connected vehicle services revenue.

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