Manufacturers' Subscription Services

[llinthicum1]

As the character Spicoli said in Fasttimes At Ridgemont High "This is bogus man!!" Tesla charging a subscrition fee for heated seats. And we wonder why the adoption of EVs is slowing down. Please Ford, DO NOT go down this road.

https://cleantechnica.com/2023/11/16/is-tesla-seriously-going-to-start-charging-for-heated-seats/

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[Logal727]

I wonder if you could think of it from the perspective of including a feature that some people won't use that much (Hi, I live in Florida, heated seats come on maybe a handful of weeks a year). If it makes it cheaper to build the vehicle by just making sure all vehicles have this feature, then maybe it's better to just let people unlock the feature that want to use it?

We'll definitely be seeing more of this with the goal being to cut down manufacturing costs and hopefully pass cost savings down to buyers.

 

[geeklifer]

Cut down manufacturing costs? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
The equipment will already be in the car. You just have to pay to access it. BMW tried this for a bit for their heated seats and the backlash was so strong that they backpedaled (at least for now). Manufacturers only see this as a revenue stream. They can charge a subscription forever, instead of just selling a car once.

 

[buzznwood]

I wonder if you could think of it from the perspective of including a feature that some people won't use that much (Hi, I live in Florida, heated seats come on maybe a handful of weeks a year). If it makes it cheaper to build the vehicle by just making sure all vehicles have this feature, then maybe it's better to just let people unlock the feature that want to use it?

We'll definitely be seeing more of this with the goal being to cut down manufacturing costs and hopefully pass cost savings down to buyers.

This was bmw's original thinking when they tried the same thing and since back tracked. The principle was fine in that a lot of the vehicles where leased and when it came to resale time ones with missing features where a harder sell, so instead just built everything in and have it enabled or not at the software level so it didn't matter come resale time as well as making manufacturing simpler.

Had it just be a one time upfront cost only option then it would have been fine, it was also having it as a subscription that went down like a lead balloon so in the end they had to u-turn and stop doing it. Of course if Tesla now do it plenty of people will no doubt now magically sing its praises

 

[Logal727]

Cut down manufacturing costs? HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA
The equipment will already be in the car. You just have to pay to access it. BMW tried this for a bit for their heated seats and the backlash was so strong that they backpedaled (at least for now). Manufacturers only see this as a revenue stream. They can charge a subscription forever, instead of just selling a car once.

You clearly don’t know how manufacturing works.

 

[geeklifer]

Oh I know how it works. I get that adding all features to every car is cheaper, because there is less variation to slow things down and switch. I just know that the manufacturing cost is NOT the goal. Look at other goods and services. See all the subscription models everywhere? It is a cash cow. No more one and done sales. You cash in each and every month. You never actually own what you have. You just rent it (or subscribe to it, but it is the same concept.)

 

[Pieter]

I'm wondering whether that is even legal? I mean, I buy a car with certain features (read: hardware) included, but you are not letting me use them unless I pay a monthly fee..

What's next? Limiting my car to go 30mph, and if I want to go over that I have to pay for it?

 

[2021-MMEx-RT1]

Of course if Tesla now do it plenty of people will no doubt now magically sing its praises

Of course. Oh, Tesla says it's good? Great at least my bum will be warm while they plow it...

 

[Exordium01]

BMW faced backlash because they wanted to charge a subscription for a hardware feature. This sounds like a one-time fee which isn’t weird at all. I’d argue that it is preferable to having multiple SKUs for both the manufacturer and customers. Say you move from Florida to Minnesota. I’d rather pay some amount of money to unlock heated seats than be stuck without them.

 

[awp0]

In fairness, the BMW heated seats subscription was offered as an optional alternative to the normal "just buy it once" model. So you could buy the car with the heated seats option (with no subscription) or you could skip that and decide later to add it as a subscription.

IMHO this is a lot different than making heated seats ONLY available as a subscription. You know, like HF Bluecruise.

 

[Exordium01]

BC is in active development so a subscription model isn’t all that crazy. I’d rather it be on subscription and get continuous improvement than subscription free but without updates. Especially considering hands-on ADAS isn’t locked behind the subscription and contains almost every feature.

That said, $800/year is insane and there isn’t much point in developing software that nobody will pay for. I’m guessing we’ll be hearing about the new pricing in mid-2024 along with some face saving speech about “innovation” and “market calibration” where late-model 2023 owners who only got the 90 day trial need to pay around $2k for the initial 3 year activation and all subscription extensions are something reasonable.

 

[Space_Pony]

I'm wondering whether that is even legal? I mean, I buy a car with certain features (read: hardware) included, but you are not letting me use them unless I pay a monthly fee..

What's next? Limiting my car to go 30mph, and if I want to go over that I have to pay for it?

Hey don't give them any ideas.

 

[awp0]

BC is in active development so a subscription model isn’t all that crazy. I’d rather it be on subscription and get continuous improvement than subscription free but without updates. Especially considering hands-on ADAS isn’t locked behind the subscription and contains almost every feature.

That said, $800/year is insane and there isn’t much point in developing software that nobody will pay for. I’m guessing we’ll be hearing about the new pricing in mid-2024 along with some face saving speech about “innovation” and “market calibration” where late-model 2023 owners who only got the 90 day trial need to pay around $2k for the initial 3 year activation and all subscription extensions are something reasonable.

I’ve owned my MME for 16 months and during that time I can count on zero fingers the value I’ve received from “active development” of BC. Same features, same bugs, same maps for almost a year and a half. The irony is that we pay nothing for PowerUp updates and I’ve received dozens of those. I respect everyone’s opinions on this, but I’m personally not a believer that Bluecruise is something so special that it deserves a subscription.

 

[Exordium01]

I’ve owned my MME for 16 months and during that time I can count on zero fingers the value I’ve received from “active development” of BC. Same features, same bugs, same maps for almost a year and a half. The irony is that we pay nothing for PowerUp updates and I’ve received dozens of those. I respect everyone’s opinions on this, but I’m personally not a believer that Bluecruise is something so special that it deserves a subscription.

And Ford is actively working on pushing out an update that changes both the free ADAS and paid BC systems.

 

[ChuckA]

Oh I know how it works. I get that adding all features to every car is cheaper, because there is less variation to slow things down and switch. I just know that the manufacturing cost is NOT the goal. Look at other goods and services. See all the subscription models everywhere? It is a cash cow. No more one and done sales. You cash in each and every month. You never actually own what you have. You just rent it (or subscribe to it, but it is the same concept.)

I agree. In the old days the manufacturers wired for stereo speakers because installing them later is labor intensive. My MME has BC hardware although in 06/21 the feature wasn’t available.

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