Drivers of autonomous vehicles—analyzing consumer preferences for self-driving car brand extensions

Abstract Autonomous cars are considered to be the next disruptive innovation that will affect consumers. It can expected not only traditional automakers enter this market (e.g., Ford) but also technology companies Google) and newer dedicated self-driving Tesla). We take a brand extension perspective analyze what extent consumers prefer autonomous from these categories. Our empirical study is based on discrete choice experiments about adopting vehicles in purchase scenario renting context. findings show brands play central role when making driving decisions. Brand preferences differ systematically buying versus car. While most preferred overall, favor automaker over new purchasing, renting. further disentangle strength into marginal effects of image associations. For example, Google’s strong positioning explained by experiences with parent brand, it could still improve highlighting relevance associated portfolio for cars. The effect success factors differs between parent-brand categories purchasing scenarios, which requires management.