BMW has been rated the automotive brand digitally savvy American consumers ages 18-49 with household incomes above $75k trust most to share their personal data. The innovative, new Data Trust Index (DTI) by Luxury Institute and DataLucent, measures the level of trust that consumers have in licensing their digital platform data (Google, Facebook, Instagram, etc.) to mass, premium and luxury brands, in exchange for rewards and benefits of value to them. BMW’s top data trust rating was achieved among a combined select group of 21 major mass, premium and luxury automotive brands. Audi and Toyota were rated second and third, respectively. BMW achieved the highest percent rating of any automotive brand by a measure of ten percentage points above the next best rated brand: Audi. Men are more willing than women to trust BMW with their data by a ratio of almost 2:1. Interestingly, as opposed to common mythology, older (40-49) and more affluent ($150k+ household income) consumers trust BMW more with licensed access to their data than younger, less affluent consumers by a statistically significant margin.
The DTI U.S. survey is based on a nationally representative sample of 1,008 consumers ages 18-49, with a minimum income of $75k (total sample average income of $200k), with 54% male and 48% female participation. Responders reported that YouTube (82%), Google (79%), Facebook (78%), Amazon (76%) and Instagram (75%) were the digital platforms used on a regular basis. On the most critical core question of the survey: 83% of all responders, including 89% males and 78% of females, are willing to license their digital platform data, under their control, to brands they trust to use and serve their needs, and the needs of other consumers, in a personalized way.
The survey asked consumers to rate 21 major automotive brands. Consumers indicated which of the brands, presented in alphabetical order, they would trust most to license their data for rewards and benefits of value to them. The complete brand list includes Acura, Audi, BMW, Cadillac, Chevrolet, Ford, Genesis, GMC, Honda, Hyundai, Infinity, Jaguar, Land Rover, Lexus, Lincoln, Mercedes-Benz, Porsche, Tesla, Toyota, Volkswagen, and Volvo.
“Congratulations to BMW, Audi and Toyota for leading in data trust in the automotive industry,” said Milton Pedraza, Chairman of DataLucent, and CEO of the Luxury Institute. “There is so much more to be done in the auto industry to earn the trust required to lead brands successfully in the New Digital Age. This breakthrough metric, the Data Trust Index (DTI), will become one of the most critical measures of a brand’s long-term health and viability. We look forward to engaging with brands via their own custom metrics to help them to develop the consumer data sharing trust and access they need to survive and thrive in the 2020s.”
