Drawing on a Pulse survey of approximately 5,000 consumers in China, J.D. Power finds that just 9% are very positive on the prospect of unmanned mobility, roughly half the number of positive responses seen among US consumers.

The research results illustrate the distinctive preferences of auto consumers in China. Among the key findings, significant differences between Chinese and US consumers are found in the preferences for autonomous driving technology, fuel efficiency and overall feature cost.

Key findings include:

• Consumer Interest in Autonomous Vehicle Tech Lags: Just 9% of consumers in China are very interested in self-driving vehicles, compared with 18% in the United States.

• Energy Efficiency Less of a Priority: Unlike the US market, where fuel efficiency consistently ranks among the top purchase reasons, consumers in China rate energy efficiency-related features near the bottom of their priority list. Three of the 10 least desired features among Chinese consumers are related to fuel efficiency.

• Feature Cost More Elastic in Chinese Market: Consumers in China are less likely to be influenced by cost when selecting vehicle features. The average cost of the top 10 features selected by Chinese consumers is $1,225 vs. just $775 in the US market.

• Low Interest in Co-Ownership: While consumers in China are generally positive toward the concept of mobility on demand, just 4% of those surveyed say they are interested in the concept of co-ownership, suggesting that vehicle ownership continues to be a major priority for these consumers.

• Male vs. Female Preferences Differ: The top three technology features selected more frequently by men than women in China are drowsiness detection systems, pillar transparency technology and automatic lane keeping. Among women, the top features selected more often than by men are dash-mounted cameras, smart parking assist and remote control parking.

The figures in this survey were based on 4,963 participants interviewed between 23 March and 9 April 2016, on the Tencent website and WeChat platforms.