[RahulNagaraj]

With connected car technology becoming more and more common over the last couple of years, it isn't surprising to see a number of vehicles with the tech now make their way onto the second-hand market. However, with connected tech now entering the used market, it has brought subscription fees with it as well.



According to reports, this has called into question whether automakers should control features in a car, once it's legally taken over by another party. However, car companies see this as a huge cash cow for the future and now want to branch out into used cars too.

As per a study last year, 75% of new car buyers were unwilling to pay additional subscription fees and felt that features and services should be part of the vehicle's initial cost. However, this hasn't stopped the industry from charging extra for various features and services. This includes unlocking extra power, access to navigation, self-driving tech, heated seats and many more.

Connected tech has given carmakers a direct line of communication between the brand and the customer. This has allowed interaction between customer and brand to shift from the occasional dealership visits to continuous contact, throughout the vehicles' ownership period.

In 2021, General Motors stated that the brand is expected to generate $25 billion annually by 2030 based only on subscription fees. Stellantis also announced that it has planned $23 billion in yearly subscription revenue by the decade-end.

Source: CarScoops

Link to Team-BHP news

[Dhillon]

Whether we like it or not, OEMs will not shy away from charging us additional amount for using some features. I do not support the subscription model but this is the reality that I may have to live with.

[Sandeep M]

This is something which we used to see in internet memes, such as "what if EA made a car", but now, it is becoming a reality.

It is not enough that the features we expect in a certain price range is added as accessories for extra revenue, but now, we also got to pay monthly subscription for that too.

[ComboCutter]

I wish there were regulations, specifically,

• restricting OEMs from disabling advertised features in the vehicle particularly safety ones
• Connected Car features should be transferable and any subscription cost be declared upfront during purchase

[Turbohead]

I guess car manufacturers are trying to create new means for generating revenue assuming that the transition to electric cars will reduce the revenue generated through ASS since electric cars may turn out to be cheaper to maintain and service.

[Cresterk]

I actually don't mind this model. Mainly because I could then buy a base variant and flash a software from some tuning shop to unlock all the features of the top variant

[DRIV3R]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I actually don't mind this model. Mainly because I could then buy a base variant and flash a software from some tuning shop to unlock all the features of the top variant

This may work perfectly ok in a car with no connected tech. Not so much with a connected car as it is always connected to the internet and OEM has access to metadata and telemetry full time. If a tuner can stop the OEM from having access, am afraid the same system is very vulnerable to hackers as well.

[Cresterk]

Originally Posted by DRIV3R

This may work perfectly ok in a car with no connected tech. Not so much with a connected car as it is always connected to the internet and OEM has access to metadata and telemetry full time. If a tuner can stop the OEM from having access, am afraid the same system is very vulnerable to hackers as well.

You can’t just enforce internet connections. What happens if you are driving somewhere with no cell phone range? Your car is going to shut down and refuse to start? All DRM can be overridden with time and knowledge.

[VVN]

I am totally against subscription model in cars or any product that we pay in full for. Imagine mobile OEMs charging a subscription fee for using some good to have features like the Dynamic Island on the iPhone or being able to access multiple app stores on Android.

Contrary to what people might think here, subscription model will never bring the cost down. It will either reduce marginally or stay the same. As consumers, we should oppose this move with everything we have got. OEMs cannot really expect us to shell out 1-2 million on a product and then have some good to have features disabled. Either make the entire car subscription based and charge a nominal fee for owning it and then a monthly model to access other features or take the one time fee and shut up.

Originally Posted by Cresterk

You can’t just enforce internet connections. What happens if you are driving somewhere with no cell phone range? Your car is going to shut down and refuse to start? All DRM can be overridden with time and knowledge.

Subscription models won't be enforced on critical features but rather limited to features like ventilated seats, remote start, auto headlights, auto wipers, the ability to wirelessly use Android auto or carplay, wireless charging etc which add to the convenience but not critical enough to render the car useless without it.

I am all for it if car prices reduce to say 7L for a top end Honda City with additional 5k per month for the aforementioned features. Definitely not spending 2 million on a car and additional payment on top of that to access certain features.

[Caffeinated_Owl]

It's so disappointing to see automakers trying to squeeze even more money out of their customers with subscription fees for features that should have been included in the initial cost of the vehicle. It's ridiculous that even when a car is legally taken over by another party, the automaker still wants to control and charge for certain features.

[supermax]

Originally Posted by Cresterk

I actually don't mind this model. Mainly because I could then buy a base variant and flash a software from some tuning shop to unlock all the features of the top variant

And void the warranty in the process? No thanks. It's easy to flash, but equally of not more trivial to compute a checksum of the firmware installed and realize it's not factory spec, tuners who tell you otherwise are just lying.

Originally Posted by VVN

Either make the entire car subscription based and charge a nominal fee for owning it and then a monthly model to access other features or take the one time fee and shut up.

In the US and the EU, you can indeed opt to pay a one time fee upfront and purchase the feature for life. For manufacturers, it gives them the advantage of just making one model, instead of churning out multiple variants and dealing with dead stocks. For the buyer, he gets the advantage of choosing to upgrade later and get the benefits of a higher spec car which wouldn't have been possible in a conventional scenario without changing the car or paying for both parts and installation costs to get those features later. It's definitely a win-win situation.

[Starkiller]

I honestly find this subscription model downright dishonourable. Unsurprisingly, Japanese OEMs haven't given in to this because even they believe it's a dishonourable thing to hold back features from the buyer once they've already purchased the vehicle. But it will be an immensely sad day if they too adopt this model.

[SaiSW]

DRM making it's way into mass market cars is the day where I will stop buying new cars entirely. I've suffered enough with DRMs in videogames, and not even because of piracy, I buy a legitimate copy of the game and still suffer because of wacky DRMs. Need for Speed 2015 was an infamous example in my Steam library.

Some of them need you to be always online to validate the game and they also suck your resources running in the background.

Originally Posted by Starkiller

I honestly find this subscription model downright dishonourable. Unsurprisingly, Japanese OEMs haven't given in to this because even they believe it's a dishonourable thing to hold back features from the buyer once they've already purchased the vehicle. But it will be an immensely sad day if they too adopt this model.

I think as far as our market is concerned, the Japs and our homegrown companies might avoid this scam altogether. Something tells me, in our country it will be the Koreans (apart from the Germans in the high end segment) who will adopt this subscription scam. I don't know why, but I have a nagging feeling that might turn out to be the case.