Who came up with this crazy idea?
In 2022, many were understandably choked up when they discovered that BMW was starting to sell the option of heated seats as a subscription, even though the vehicles were already equipped with all the hardware needed to heat the seats, the everything for 20 euros per month.
Please note, BMW does not at all question the principle of subscriptions, believing on the contrary that this is a success regarding software and functions linked to services, such as driving assistance and parking assistance. “It’s the same as downloading a movie or an additional feature in an app.” BMW just undertakes not to charge owners for the use of hardware features that their vehicles already have, such as heated seats.
In a recent interview with Autocar, Pieter Nota, BMW board member for sales and marketing, said customers had not responded well to the launch of subscription services for “standard” features. “.
“What we no longer do – and this is a very well-known example – is offer heated seats in this way,” he said. “We now offer it upon ordering, you either have it or you don’t. We thought we would provide an additional service to the customer by offering the option to activate it later, but user acceptance is not that high. People feel like they paid double – which isn’t true, but perception is reality, I always say that. Good argument. The customers therefore undoubtedly had a feeling of smoke, even if this is not true, because it was an additional service! Naturally.
Use more than ownership?
Subscription goes a long way. We already have the different packages, rental phones, video games with multiple DLCs (downloadable content) which allow content to be added for a fee, micro transactions in applications, etc. The car is more and more taken in the form of rent and no longer purchased with cash or on credit, and is no longer really a property of the user, but what is the limit if one has to subscribe for a function physics in a vehicle? For manufacturers, the digitalization and growing connectivity of vehicles is a boon effect, making it possible to offer numerous paid services based on the model of digital telephony services or streaming platforms and thus increase their margins.
What seems acceptable for an information or connectivity service does not pass for an element of comfort which has always been offered in the past through the traditional route of the option installed when ordering on the vehicle. It seems normal for the user to be able to use all the features already present on board a vehicle that has been paid for, even if it means putting their hand in their pocket for additional services.
