Generation Y Wants Unbundled Telematics Option, Seeks Parents' Influence In
Vehicle Purchases
DETROIT, April 8, 2008 /PRNewswire/ -- How today's teens and
twenty-somethings (also known as Generation Y or the Millennial Generation)
will change the way automobiles are made, marketed, serviced and equipped
with electronics and telematics will be the focus of a two-hour business
forum on April 15 sponsored by ATX Group, the world's largest independent
telematics services provider to the automotive industry. The presentation,
part of the new Executive Business Theater forum to be introduced this year
at the Society of Automotive Engineers' (SAE) World Congress at Cobo
Center, will be moderated by ATX president and CEO, Steve Millstein and
feature presentations by Teen Research Unlimited, a Chicago-based research
firm specializing in identifying trends in consumer attitudes of
Millennials; Siemens PLM Software; ATX; and the College for Creative
Studies in Detroit. The forum, part of a day-long theme on business
innovation, is scheduled for 2 p.m. in the Detroit Hall. Consulting4Drive
GmbH, a German-based consulting firm, is co-sponsoring the theater with
ATX.
"Unlike previous generational transitions, which primarily entailed
identifying changing tastes in vehicle design and lifestyle, marketing to
Generation Y will entail radical changes in vehicle ownership," said Steve
Millstein, ATX president and CEO. "This is the first generation that has
been raised entirely with the Internet and technology. It's a generation
that expects things on-demand and doesn't necessarily respond to
traditional brand marketing. We're hoping that this will be one of those
free-wheeling, outside- the-box discussions that will stimulate discussions
between automotive engineers and marketers about innovative new ways to
approach the next wave of consumers."
Leading off the program, Michael Wood, vice president and director of
syndicated research for Teen Research Unlimited (TRU), will share some of
the primary insights into Generation Y attitudes that TRU has identified in
the ongoing Trendwatch panel it conducts for consumer products companies.
William A. Carelli, Siemens vice president of strategic marketing, and
Dean Imre Molnar of Detroit's College for Creative Studies, will also share
insights on marketing to this new generation of car buyers.
ATX is currently engaged with in-depth research on the Millennial
market as it relates to the convergence of telecommunications devices,
Internet content and the electrical buss of the vehicle. "The idea that
this generation is going to respond to any shrink-wrapped solution that a
vehicle manufacturer or telematics provider bundles up for them is simply
flawed," emphasized Millstein. "This is a generation that wants their
vehicle and infotainment systems customized to fit individual demands, not
packaged for them. They want their vehicle to accommodate the devices and
content they prefer. They do not want to be told by a gatekeeper what they
can or cannot access."
ABOUT ATX: Based in Dallas-Fort Worth, Texas, and Dusseldorf, Germany,
ATX Group is the world's largest provider of customized telematics services
to the automotive industry, serving both North America and Europe. ATX
telematics services are designed to provide enhanced safety, security and
driving convenience to vehicle owners. These services include
location-specific emergency and roadside assistance, automatic collision
notification, stolen vehicle recovery, remote diagnostics and real-time
traffic and navigation assistance. ATX also customizes telematics services
to help automobile manufacturers and their affiliated dealerships to use
telematics data to reduce costs, enhance vehicle servicing, and more
closely manage customer relationships. ATX services are provided to vehicle
owners through the brand names of its customers -- Mercedes-Benz, BMW, PSA
Peugeot Citroen, Maybach, and Rolls-Royce Motor Cars. For more information,
visit http://www.atxg.com.
SOURCE ATX Group
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Related links:
http://www.atxg.com
CONTACT:
Gary Wallace, Vice President, Corporate
Relations of ATX Group, +1-800-511-5891 or +1-972-753-6230,
gwallace@atxg.com
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