Proposed U.S. Tax Incentives Will Pave Road Towards Adoption Of Advanced Automotive Safety Systems, Says ABI Research

OYSTER BAY, New York--Sept. 16, 2004--The "Intelligent Vehicle Highway Safety Act of 2004," a recently proposed law introduced in the U.S. House of Representatives could help stimulate the adoption of "Intelligent Vehicle Technology" (IVT) sensing and control systems in US-sold vehicles, according to a new study by ABI Research.

The law would provide significant tax incentives for both individuals and businesses who purchase vehicles with IVT equipment installed.

The report, "Automotive Radar/Lidar Systems" examines the newest generation of safety technologies beginning to make their way into the automotive platform. These systems partially include blind-spot detection, collision avoidance, lane-departure warning, adaptive cruise control, and pre-crash sensing systems.

According to ABI Research senior analyst Robert LaGuerra, such government support will likely spur adoption of IVT systems, because of their generally high cost. "There is one caveat in that the proposed bill is unclear in fully-defining what an IVT system is," he says. "Systems falling into this category could include not only safety systems, but also GPS-based navigation/telematics devices."

The cost of advanced technologies such as radar, lidar and optics, are currently too high for anything but a premium luxury vehicle. This is expected to change with increasing volumes and further system integration.

Another inhibitor of IVT adoption is low consumer awareness and misperception toward these systems due to the way automakers define them. Despite the fact that the intended goal of most of these systems is for safety, they are generally described by their makers as "convenience" systems, because of the fear of legal liability, should a personal injury case involving one of them reach the courts.

But with 42,000 deaths and 5.2 million injuries caused by the 6 million accidents on U.S. roads each year, a tax break may be public money well spent if it cuts the $400 billion cost of poor road safety.

Founded in 1990 and headquartered in New York, ABI Research maintains global operations that support annual research programs, quarterly intelligence services and market reports in wireless, automotive, semiconductors, broadband, and energy. Their market research products can be found on the Web at www.abiresearch.com, or by calling 516-624-3113.