Digital Accessibility Is Critical to Automotive UX
Automotive companies are faced with so many challenges as the industry evolves faster than ever – yet a problem that has plagued them for ages continues to stick around: accessibility. While the younger generations stay in focus as the consumers to delight with new products and services, the older generations are living longer lives and hold significant buying power. In response, OEMs, dealers, and automotive suppliers should all evaluate their offerings in the light that they could be used by someone of any age and in any life situation. In other words, these products and services need to adapt to their users, not demand that the user adapt to them.
In a discussion with Lisa McMichael, senior manager of our digital accessibility practice, I learned so much about the history of accessibility in automotive and where it can be applied in today’s exciting environment. The fact that the popular feature cruise control was originally invented by someone who really needed to to assist his driving ability is just one example of how powerful it is to be accessible and inclusive: everyone can benefit.
Above all else, take away these key things:
- Accessibility is for everyone – we all experience different life stages, temporary or permanent situations that affect our abilities, and have different preferences.
- Accessibility is a critical part of customer experience and proper design.
- Accessibility is great for SEO, as it helps search engines crawl websites and also reinforces best practices that improve rankings.
- Enforcement is coming soon from governments around the world by 2025 that global organizations must comply with or pay heavy fines, so it is strongly advised that organizations find experienced partners to improve accessibility as soon as possible.
See how your organization can get started on improving digital accessibility with our Accessibility IQ.
