Nowadays, you can pay for the majority of items via a subscription, including beer deliveries, meal recipe boxes, and streaming music and movies.
Additionally, customers may now access pay-monthly packages for particular features in BMW cars, such as heated front seats in Australia for $26.
It is a component of the linked driving package from the German manufacturer, which this week included a number of additional features.
These included monthly subscriptions for heated steering wheels and headlight systems that won’t blind oncoming traffic.
Drivers must now pay yearly or monthly payments to the automaker in order for it to temporarily erase software that prevents them from accessing built-in features in the vehicle.
In 2020, BMW introduced the service, which enables over-the-air software updates to turn on or off new features in its most recent vehicles.
The updates system, which will enable consumers to subscribe to particular features that are currently in their cars but are not active, is only compatible with its automobiles running Operating System 7.
It accomplishes this using the built-in WI-fi and essentially removes a piece of computer code that prevents access to the feature.
It implies that motorists can update their current vehicles without ever setting foot inside a BMW dealership.
The majority of the features either weren’t marketed as being included with the particular trim level of the motor when the original owner bought it or were optional additions that weren’t ordered.
It has mainly provided permanent boosts up until recently.
Included in this are adaptive cruise control ($1320 one-time cost), adaptive suspension ($700), Apple CarPlay ($465), and something called “IconicSound Sport” ($175), which simulates a stronger engine note through the inside speakers.
Customers, starting this week, can choose from a variety of non-permanent features that can be used over the course of years, a single year, or even monthly subscriptions.
This is comparable to the micro-transactions that allow gamers to acquire new features and upgrades in video games.
In other words, BMW owners can now order heated front seats, which cost $615 permanently, $440 for three years, $265 annually, or $26 per month.
It costs $350 to fully install the heated steering wheel option, $265 for three years, $175 for one year, or $17 per month.
The similar pricing structure applies to BMW’s “high beam helper,” which automatically lowers full beam headlights when there is a vehicle in front of it.
Additionally, owners have the option to buy the “driving assistance plus” package, which is an adaptive cruise control feature that keeps the vehicle in its lane, maintains a predetermined speed, and maintains a predetermined distance from the vehicle in front of it.
This can be had for $61 each month, $965 for three years, or $1320 on a permanent basis.
Oliver Zipse, chairman of BMW, said: “Digital technologies belong to the core of BMW – since hardware and software are of equal importance for luxury cars.
We will launch the updates system in 2020.
Our goal is to combine the most cutting-edge digital technologies with the highest levels of product excellence to further improve the experience and driving pleasure of our consumers.
It does raise questions about why a driver might want other advantages on a temporary basis, even though in some cases a monthly subscription might make sense for seasonal features, such as just needing heated front seats during the winter months rather than during the current heatwave.
This is especially true of high-beam assist, a device that ultimately enhances road safety by preventing blinding other drivers.
Additionally, even if the first owner doesn’t want these features turned on, BMW must install all the necessary hardware.
For example, it would have to place heat pads in the front seats of all models and always use steering wheels with heat elements rather than a normal plastic rim.
It will then have to install software that disables the use of these features if the customer refuses to pay for them.
The automaker will need to fully load all of its new vehicles, but since the cars are no longer being made to order with special equipment, production time will probably be shortened.
The connected drive store gives consumers the option to add certain features they did not order when the vehicle was manufactured at a later time.
A BMW representative told This is Money when asked why drivers might want to utilize a monthly subscription.
If a new customer’s circumstances change after making a purchase, this could be useful.
This functionality is very helpful for second owners because they can now add features that the first owner did not select.
Customers have the option of paying a one-time fee to enable all hardware features or, if they’d prefer, selecting an annual or monthly subscription, depending on the feature.
By paying for a brief trial, this enables drivers to try out a feature before deciding to buy it.
Additionally, the technology enables BMW consumers to trial the features at no cost for a month before deciding to pay to have it permanently updated in their vehicle.
Additionally, it contains “BMW safety camera information,” which warns the driver when a fixed speed camera is nearby.
Before being purchased, this can be trialled for one month at no cost before requiring a $43 yearly subscription.
A three-month trial of the drive assistance plus feature is free.
