This report examines the amount which Australian car buyers are willing to pay for vehicle safety features that protect occupants in the event of a crash. A series of questionnaires, targeted at private car buyers, fleet managers and car renters, were developed to determine the amount that new car buyers are willing to pay for a package of safety features which either did or did not include an air bag. Across all surveys the willingness to pay for the air bag and non-airbag packages was found to be high. It was estimated that over 80% of new car buyers would be willing to pay the best estimate retail price or more for both the air bag and non-airbag package. Factors which appear to be related to willingness to pay include age, sex, household income and size of car.
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