BMW is Selling Monthly Subscription Service

Author: Valery Zulia

As a way to customize our entertainment and shopping experiences, many subscription services like Netflix or Amazon Prime have become household essentials. 

They are now present in cars as well, so they aren’t only restricted to our homes, offices, and phones.

Recently, BMW announced a car seat subscription program. The automobile company announced that its heated seats would be available to car owners via a subscription. 

You can purchase heated seats when you buy a new car, but if you purchased a used car without the function, BMW can activate it for a monthly price for you to enjoy sitting in a cozy seat on a chilly day.

The Benefits of the Subscription

Executives at BMW have long discussed ideas to charge a monthly fee for items like heated seats. The advantage would be a cheaper initial cost for the vehicle and, maybe, the opportunity just to pay for the function when needed, for instance, in the winter. Additionally, second or third owners would have the option of paying for features they desire or not. If they don’t pay their bills, BMW will switch off the heated seats for program participants.

According to their official announcement, the service costs $18/month and $180/year.

Is the Subscription Available in the USA?

The manufacturer has noted that the features available via Subscription will vary by market. A heated seat for instance, would not be provided by subscription in the United States. The reason for the exclusion is that US customers demand a high level of technology in their automobiles.

What are the other Subscription Alternatives?

In the US, some features are already available via Subscription. For instance, the “remote start” feature, which enables drivers to start their vehicle engine from a distance so the car can warm up, is available as a separate purchase.

There is also a paid feature called “BMW Drive Recorder”. This service employs the outside cameras of the vehicle (the ones often used for lane-keeping assistance) to record videos like a dashboard camera. They may be purchased through a website called the BMW ConnectedDrive Store, which also sells some auto features under the name BMW Functions on Demand. 

In an email, BMW manager Alexander Schmuck said that consumers would be able to test out new software-based features temporarily by purchasing a trial or acquiring the function together for a certain length of time or the lifetime of the car with BMW Functions on Demand.

Conclusion

When a car is acquired, some features are paid for and are not subjected to further payments. Subscription plans are often created as a method for BMW owners, and perhaps second or third owners of BMW automobiles, to test out features that may not have been “turned on” when the automobile was initially acquired.

Subscriptions for automotive features are not limited to BMW. For instance, Sub aru also charges a monthly subscription for an app-based remote start feature (though it also sells an unlimited remote start function for a higher upfront cost). Other manufacturers have also discussed adding subscription fees for frequently updated technology like GPS and upgraded driver aid systems.