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BMW idea: subscriptions to unlock the options on the car

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BMW idea: subscriptions to unlock the options on the car

In a BMW that smells new you would expect anything but paying 25 euros a month to activate the heated seats, or 9 euros a month to have automatic headlight adjustment. Yet this is one of the latest innovations introduced by the German company after a long experimental phase that seems to have more to do with the marketing strategy than any technological criticalities. Notwithstanding the fact that obviously during the purchase of the car you can immediately customize the car as you prefer; the novelty is that now it is possible to intervene more easily later.

It all began in 2020 when BMW updated its on-board operating system 7 – the one that governs entertainment, information services, navigation and reporting – and upgraded the ConnectedDrive Store. Basically this shop, reminiscent of smartphone apps, allows you to activate additional services directly from the car. Initially the RTTI (Real Time Traffic Information), news and other extras, but now also functions related to the car such as heating, lights, driving assistant and more.

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You buy a service or a function, the car connects to the mobile network and after a few minutes the update takes place. In fact, the cars are produced with a wider hardware equipment than that requested by the customer during the purchase phase and simply the availability of a function is reduced to a question of software activation / deactivation.

Obviously, BMW remembers that the availability of functions depends on the hardware integrated in your car. ConnectedDrive Store displays only the services that can be purchased on board. “If the service is not available, the necessary hardware is not integrated into your BMW,” the company points out.

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In these two years there has not been a great hype in this regard both due to the pandemic, but probably also due to the decomposed reaction of various consumers and online publications. In fact, we must culturally digest the fact that you buy a car physically equipped with many options that can only be used with the ok of an application and further disbursements.

In April, Cox Automotive, one of the US giants specializing in automotive services and financing, announced the results of a survey on consumers interested in buying a car within 48 months. Well only 25% said they would be willing to pay a monthly or yearly subscription, but only to unlock safety features such as lane keeping assistance or automatic emergency braking, vehicle performance (such as extra torque or power) or elements of comfort such as heated or cooling seats or steering wheels. The rest of the sample replied spades and “expects most of the features and services to be included.”

In any case, as The Verge points out, the new BMW has appeared on the official English, German, New Zealand and recently South Korean websites.

The Italian ConnectedDrive Store

We can confirm that the subscription functions are also present on the Italian BMW ConnectedDrive Store and there are also trial periods to test their effectiveness. Some have been available for some time, such as Apple CarPlay or the 100,000 km Maintenance Package, but others are offered with a different approach.

Among these there are Drive Recorder to record front and rear video footage, a voucher for unlimited access to Deezer or Napster (including data traffic), heated front seats, high and low beam assistant, and heated steering wheel. The rates are a few euros per month or a few tens if you choose annual periods, or even hundreds if you want a permanent release.

If heated seats at 25 euros a month seem like a nice gimmick since during the year it might make sense to limit their use to short winter periods, Deezer at 230 per year appears off the scale given that the subscription is normally around 100 euros. . Net of all considerations, what matters is the decision to focus on microtransactions to unlock functions as if you were in a video game – where you start with a basic equipment but if you want upgrades you have to spend money.

Two years ago a BMW manager told The Drive that some features were not met with great interest, so the prospect of allowing them to be optionally unlocked after purchase could be more advantageous. No less important is the fact that the transition to electric vehicles is likely to drastically reduce the revenues generated from service and routine maintenance. Today a combustion engine needs filter changes, fluids and other activities; an electric model at most key component replacements.

It is also true that the more production costs rise, the more profits decrease, so it should come as no surprise that this new subscription fever is also plaguing Volkswagen, Toyota, Audi, Cadillac and Porsche. Tesla, as is well known, was among the first to even invent the battery release that allowed the same model to provide partial or full capacity.

A thriving market for automotive apps or functions could become a new business front, even if today it is mostly limited to high-end vehicles. But analysts say they will spread to every segment. General Motors, for example, admitted last year that its subscription services have generated revenues of over $ 2 billion and the prospect in ten years is that they will reach $ 25 billion.

“The automakers no doubt hope that customers will get used to this news, but frankly I’m skeptical it will take off,” said Sam Abuelsamid, analyst at Guidehouse Insights, a leading consulting firm.

However, there remains the great opportunity for cybercriminals, as they could propose a total “unlocking” of the car at bargain prices and perhaps after some time also a request for a ransom … Following a remote locking of the vehicle.

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