BMW was heavily criticized last year when it introduced subscription plans for heated seats. In defense of the Bavarian brand, there was some initial confusion as many people believed they had to pay twice for the same features – first when buying the car and then for the subscription itself. However, that is not the case as vehicles booked with heated seats have the feature permanently enabled from day one.
On the other hand, getting a subscription is all about removing the paywall via software because the hardware needed to heat the seats is pre-installed. BMW rival Volvo is not going down that path as the company’s Chief Operating Officer, Björn Annwall, has said Bloomberg heated seat subscription is not planned: “We will not ask people who have bought a car for 1 million kronor [$95,000] to pay another 10 kronor [$1] to get extra heat in the seats.”
He then argued that charging money after purchase for a feature made sense only for major upgrades, mentioning a hands-free, self-driving system would be one of them. Mercedes is looking at things differently by recently launching a $1,200 annual subscription plan to unlock extra power for some of its electric vehicles. Available for the EQE 350 and EQS 450 in sedan and SUV body styles, it saves up to 0.9 seconds from the 0-60 mph sprint. For now, the three-pointed star says it’s impossible to offer these upgrades in Europe due to legal constraints.
While Volvo hasn’t jumped on the subscription bandwagon yet, other members of the Geely family are looking to make some extra cash after selling cars. Originally launching in Europe in late 2021, the over-the-air update for the Polestar 2 adds 68 horsepower for $1,195 to shave 0.3 seconds from its 0-60 mph sprint time. It is not a subscription as the buyer only pays once to permanently receive additional tenacity.
