Connected Car App
UX & Product StrategyHow did this major automotive brand improve the onboarding experience of their connected car apps to increase enrollment, reduce frustration, and build customer trust?
Challenge
A major automotive manufacturer was seeing high drop-off rates during onboarding in its connected car apps. Negative feedback from multiple channels (customer service, app reviews, internal surveys) showed that many new car buyers were not completing the enrollment steps. The analytics tools in place couldn’t explain why.
Approach
Our task was to uncover the root causes of onboarding failures and deliver actionable UX recommendations to improve enrollment, increase customer satisfaction, and build a more seamless digital-to-physical experience.
Conducted 11 on-site moderated interviews with first-time app users, observing real behaviors and capturing direct feedback to validate issues and prioritize fixes.
Created a detailed experience map of the onboarding process, surfacing the “Valley of Frustration” where 30% of users abandoned at the Vehicle Access Verification step.
Outcome
The research revealed systemic barriers such as unclear instructions, redundant VIN scanning, and lack of dealership onboarding. We delivered UX recommendations spanning account creation, trial activation, and vehicle verification—framed as both “quick wins” and longer-term opportunities.
As a result, the client gained:
A clear understanding of drop-off points and user expectations.
A prioritized roadmap of UX improvements for upcoming app iterations.
Alignment between product, design, and business stakeholders on how to scale a better ‘connected car’ experience.