Attention Audi and Co.: Customers of Auto-Extras subscribe to this
Created: 04/22/2022, 14:06
By: Marcus Efler
Subscription instead of purchase: What is catching on with apps should also maximize profits with auto options.
Whether and for which extras customers would regularly pay is another matter.
Atlanta (USA) – You know that from apps, TV series and Bundesliga games: not much works without several subscriptions.
Instead of paying something once, customers should regularly transfer money over and over again.
What initially worked quite well with music streaming, for example, is increasingly reaching its limits: "Subscription Fatigue" means the increasing unwillingness to burden oneself with more and more monthly amounts.
It is precisely in this critical phase that car manufacturers are launching their new payment model, in which equipment options such as a navigation system are no longer added to the list price when buying a new car and paid for, but have to be booked as a subscription - which is already the case with some buyers like this driver Audi Q4 led to frustration.
Attention Audi and Co.: Customers of Auto-Extras subscribe to this
Something like this will probably not remain an isolated case, as a survey by the American institute Cox Automotive shows.
According to this, three-quarters of drivers stated that they were not willing to pay monthly or annually for an extra (while the subscription model works quite well as a leasing alternative for entire cars).
On the contrary, an overwhelming majority think that comfort and safety should be included in the base price: 92 percent want it for air conditioning, 89 percent for keyless entry and driving and lane departure warning systems, and 87 percent for emergency braking systems.
On the other hand, most respondents consider an internal WLAN hotspot and theft tracking (which does not always work anyway) to be dispensable.
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More and more as a subscription instead of a one-time surcharge: extras like the navigation system.
(Iconic image) © Sagmeister Photography/Audi
Attention Audi and Co.: Customers of Auto-Extras subscribe to this
For the minority of 25 percent who would book extras in the subscription for a fee, security is also at the top of the wish list: These customers would pay at least 30 to 35 dollars (approx. 28 to 32.50 euros) a month for the corresponding assistance systems.
The performance of the car is still worth 20 to 25 dollars (approx. 18.50 to 23 euros) to them.
Above all, drivers of electric cars would choose a longer range: 39 percent are willing to subscribe here.
Air conditioning comfort would cost potential subscribers 15 to 31 dollars (approx. 14 to 28.50 euros).
However, the greatest potential for car manufacturers is still in making their subscription strategy known at all and making it palatable to customers: a good half of those surveyed did not even know that such a thing even existed.