BMW heated seats subscription

By stealthily introducing a subscription model for basic features, BMW made some huge mistakes. Here's what you can learn from it.

This would have allowed BMW to lessen the negative emotional impact of the story. Tesla is leading the charge when it comes to subscription-based services. If car service subscriptions do become commonplace, many customers still won't like the idea -- but they'll be more used to it than they are now. That's because by stealthily introducing these features in various countries, BMW made a major mistake: It underestimated the emotional impact it would make, and the potential hit to its reputation. Its target customer is looking for the "all-inclusive" feel. That's right, the German automaker made headlines this week when some internet sleuths discovered that in a number of countries, including the United Kingdom and South Korea, BMW has begun charging for monthly access to features like heated seats.

Case in point: companies like BMW just really can't give up their dream of turning everyday, basic features, into subscription services. Service fees they can, ...

And the FTC watching you like a hawk, waiting to see if companies make enabling something you already own a warranty violation. If done reasonably, the company would really only be shifting the costs from one premium package to a subscription service. Heated seats, for instance, cost ₩24,000 (roughly $18) per month.

Automakers are likely to charge a monthly or annual fee for creature comforts like heated seats or remote start key fobs. And customers hate it.

A number of automakers thought they could charge people a monthly fee to access a variety of different models as an alternative to ownership or vehicle leases. Cars are more full of computers and software than ever before, which has made it possible for automakers to add new features or patch problems on the fly with over-the-air software updates. Other stuff, like heated steering wheels or Apple CarPlay, just looks like automakers trying to bilk their customers for stuff they should only have to pay for once. Most of the subscription plans seem to be coming mainly from luxury automakers, which makes sense given that their customers are mostly rich and can more easily absorb an annual or monthly fee. Earlier this week, some media outlets noticed that BMW was selling $18-a-month subscriptions to heated seats in a number of countries, including South Korea. The German automaker had previously tried and failed to get customers to pay $80 a month for access to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto — features that are otherwise free in other companies’ vehicles. Subscription-based access to vehicle features, like heated seats or remote-start key fobs, are the latest attempt to charge people for things their car already came with.

BMW, a brand known for its amazing cars, a model for everyone – built with the infamous German engineering and now offering a whole bunch of options as a ...

I enjoy Netflix and Spotify as much as the next person. Yes, I know, any wise person can work out that they only need heated seats for 2 months of the year, so they will only be paying $36 a year and have it on demand. Streamline your production and build each and every car with the exact same hardware, but then limit options to those who are willing to pay out extra.

In several non-U.S. markets, BMW is now charging subscription services for certain things that used to simply be features, like heated seats.

It’s not a common thing in the bike world as of July 13, 2022—but then, it also didn’t used to be a thing in other segments, either. Unless you burn fuel for heat, collect and purify your own water, and/or generate all your own electricity using solar panels, those things are produced and provided to you by outside companies on a regular basis. The same would be true on bikes, and it would likely seem inherently offensive to most riders for the same reason.