NORTH AMERICA IGNITION INTERLOCK DEVICES MARKET ANALYSIS

Market Challenges And Opportunities

Market Dynamics- Restraint

1. High cost associated with installation and monitoring of IID is expected to restrain growth of the North America ignition interlock devices market during the forecast period

Ignition interlock is rented by convicted drivers and has to pay a number of fees including installation, monitoring, and reinstallation if required, during the course of inspection. For instance, a standard IID costs US$70 to US$ 150 to install and around US$ 60 to US$ 80 per month for monitoring and calibration. Moreover, for first-time offenders, who are under inspection for up to 6 months, total costs associated with IID adds up to US$430 to US$ 630. In fact, some companies charge a sum of US$ 25 for each missed appointment with probation officer during the monitoring period. Hence, these factors are expected to restrain growth of the market in the near future.

2. False-positive given by semiconductor technology are expected to hinder the North America ignition interlock devices market growth over the forecast period

Certain food such as Mexican food and pizzas uses alcohol as one of its ingredients. On the ingestion of such foods, alcohol and other spices react with gastric acid, which is a digestive fluid comprising of HCl that produces methane in stomach. This gas can create false positives in non-alcohol specific interlock devices This obstructs adoption of IIDs to a certain extent, which is in turn, is expected to hinder the North America ignition interlock market growth over the forecast period.

Market Opportunity

1. Development of software and applications to support device usage can present lucrative opportunities

Many companies in the market are focused on developing apps that may result in increased and easy use of IID, in order to provide easier access to enrollment information and increased adoption. For instance, in 2012, Smartstart Inc. launched a smartphone app for ignition interlock and alcohol monitoring. This app by SmartStart delivers product information, training for use of the device, a location finder using Google Maps, a BrAC calculator, as well as product and enrollment information.   

2. Prevision value-added features can provide major business opportunities

Vendors are offering value-added features in their IIDs for product differentiation, in order to retain a competitive edge in the market. For instance, Dräger offers Interlock XT, an ignition interlock device that can be fitted with an optional camera fitting that serves as a windshield-mounted camera. Images are uploaded with corresponding detail of each event. This is mainly done for user identification purposes.