The last thing the car industry needs is in-car subscriptions

I do enjoy the sense of occasion one gets from sifting through, selecting and switching on a DVD or Blu-ray from a collection. Nevertheless, I am also aware of the benefits of subscription services such as Netflix or Amazon Prime, both granting you access to a vast library of movies to watch at the press of a button. 

I am, however, highly dubious about whether cars should be subjected to the subscription model, which has raised its head again with VW’s plans to charge more for extra horsepower.

In-car subscriptions involve you paying a fee each month for features. Audi, for example, allows users to pay monthly, annually or in a lump sum to activate tech such as adaptive cruise control.

Perhaps the most publicised example was when BMW decided to charge £15 per month for heated seats, with the idea being that customers can pay for the feature only when they need it – ie: during the winter.

But the whole concept of locking pre-existing features behind paywalls almost begins to look like ransomware. You see, for driver-assistance functions, the physical hardware (the cameras and sensors) already need to be in place. The same goes for heated seats. 

Thus, the industry hasn’t a leg to stand on when it tries to reframe subscriptions as simply paying more to get a better product; the ‘product’ is already there, we’re just being forced to pay extra to make it work – an issue BMW has realised, having removed the heated seat option from its storefront.

Almost all of these functions are desirable ones that can impact the resale value of a car. And if you choose not to pay for the lifetime subscription, is the cash you’ve spent monthly over the past however many years wasted when you sell? 

Don’t even get me started on the concept of digital storefronts closing down, locking consumers out of features for good. Ultimately, as profit margins get even tighter, brands are understandably looking for other revenue streams.

However, with manufacturers from Korea and now China offering unrivalled levels of kit as standard without a subscription service, the premium brands are at a crossroads. They need to ask whether they want to keep upselling their customer base to the point where their desirable image disappears, or just give customers the full product without demanding even more cash than they’re already paying.

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