Volkswagen has just become the last car manufacturer to introduce a monthly subscription to benefit from all the features of its vehicles.
According to an article ofAuto Express spotted by The Next Webthis novelty concerns the ID.3 Pro and Pro S. According to the official listing, these models are able to develop up to 228 BHP (an English power unit which corresponds to around 231 horsepower). But they will remain bridled at 201 BHP (204 hp) in practice. To remove this limitation, you will have to pay a supplement billed £ 16.50 (€ 19.13) per month, £ 165 (€ 191) per year, or £ 649 (€ 752) for life.
Officially, it is a way of offering more flexibility to the customer. “” If customers want to live an even more sporty driving experience, they now have the opportunity to do so, during the life of the vehicle, rather than getting involved from the start with a higher initial purchase Price “Explains Volkswagen in a press release quoted by Auto Express.
But the bell sound could be quite different on the side of the drivers, because so far, the public has been quite refractory to these monetization methods – especially when the necessary equipment is already present on the car.
BMW had the bitter experience in 2022, when the manufacturer decided to block the heated seats, already physically installed by default on its vehicles, behind a monthly payment. This initiative was quickly abandoned after generating a spectacular media fiasco … But this new example shows that it takes more to discourage industry.
Automobile as a service
It is not a secret for anyone: Netflix has Photoshop by going through the Game Passwe now live in the era of software as a servicewhere subscriptions are increasingly replacing the purchase of a long -term license. Assuming a complete digital product to benefit from all its lifetime features even begins to become a rarity. And it would not be surprising that it also ends up becoming the norm in the automotive world, knowing that our vehicles are now real computers on wheels.
If this trend units you, there is therefore only one solution to slow down the democratization of these Paywalls: vote with your wallet by ignoring the models that offer this type of option. It remains to be seen if that will be enough to influence the brands, which have an obvious financial interest to be swivel towards this model.
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