Dashcams – soon all filmed on the road?

It was a small box placed more or less discreetly next to the interior mirror. Your mission: film the road continuously to report in the event of an accident… or return home with a nice memory of your favorite car on a trip or any other funny scene.

In summary, the module or modules will record sequences of one, two or three minutes (configurable in the camera), in a continuous loop, that is, the new videos delete the previous ones, except in the case of the backup. Dashcams are usually equipped with a gyro sensor that can actually freeze footage to a separate file in the event of suspicious vehicle movement, for example.

A market of 30 million units per year worldwide

Whether it’s called a dashcam or an on-board camera, this device is found on an increasing number of windshields or rear windows of vehicles, even motorcycle helmets.

This is confirmed by Pascal Chevalier, sales director of Nextbase, market leader in Europe:

“The global dashcam market is estimated at over 30 million units, or €2 billion in revenue. At Nextbase, we have seen around 400% growth in our sales volumes in the last 5 years, despite of covid and that mainly reflects our development in new territories”.

If the bulk of sales are made in Asia and Russia, in Europe the first market, by far, is in the United Kingdom with 1 in 7 equipped cars. Nextbase estimates annual sales at 1 million units, claiming a 77% market share. The rest of the continent represents 500,00 units per year, not including Eastern European countries. By comparison, the US market has 1.4 million annual dashcam sales. Nextbase is the leader there, but faces more competition, with a 23% market share.

reassuring in case of damage

Therefore, individuals are equipping themselves more and more, but also professionals. Taxis and VTC in particular that of course see it as additional security in case of damage to establish responsibilities. Nextbase was thus present at the last taxi fair in Paris in mid-June, with a range that complements the consumer versions.

Whatever the goal, it is above all this question of liability in the event of an accident that motivates the purchase. Pascal Chevalier thus highlights “the preservation of the capital invested in the car” and “a plus for the insurer in terms of understanding: in the event of an accident, even a non-responsible party rated 50/50, a penalty and excess may be imposed on the driver with additional costs”. In serious accidents, “it is up to the judge to define whether or not these videos are exploited, for or against.”

An appeal to this reassuring side confirmed by Frédérique Baron, manager of omnichannel e-commerce in vehicles at Norauto, which markets several brands, Nextbase and its main competitors in France, Pioneer, Garmin and Norauto under its own brand:

“The dascham allows you to give context to unexpected situations. We started sales about 3 years ago, with a real desire from consumers to equip themselves, we are in a double-digit growth of the market. People do not necessarily have a brand in mind, the choice more is done in relation to the functions offered: geolocation, the possibility to connect your dashcam to your smartphone”.

As for the budget, according to her, it is necessary to have at least 75 euros for a good quality non-connected dashcam and around 140 euros for a connected model. Norauto also offers the installation, for 63 euros, which can be attractive if you do not want to take the time to perform a clean installation, especially with a double front-rear camera.

At Nextbase, the range currently starts at 65 euros and, for its top-of-the-range model, capable of filming in 4K with image stabilization, you have to pay 290 euros.

Insurers are not (yet) playing the game

On the insurer side, on the other hand, few finally take possession of a dashcam in the calculation of the annual premium, even if Nextbase partners were able to practice it, it was about specific operations, discount of 100 euros on Acommeassure .com, 10% on L’Olivier Assurance.

“Few insurance companies have yet addressed the issue, and we are the only player investing in this type of partnership. The market needs new initiatives to raise public awareness,” says Pascal Chevalier.

.To see what Tesla could one day offer in France, with your insurance already launched in some American states and the promise of a 60% premium reduction for a “good driver.”

Waiting for this hypothetical future, Tesla is also the only brand that offers a “dashcam” function as standard with so many possibilities: saving sequences of the 4 camera angles that surround the vehicle and a “sentinel” mode that will keep the videos at getting closer. the vehicle when it is parked. A big plus compared to dashcams that can’t work with the ignition off if plugged into the cigarette lighter.