Want apps?
You will pay (photo: manufacturer's website)
If anyone thought that the introduction of electric cars with the reduced maintenance routine and the scarcity of spare parts would leave the car manufacturers without a current source of income beyond the sale of the car itself - think again.
In recent years we see more and more manufacturers turning to a new revenue stream - charging a monthly subscription fee or a separate payment after buying the car for "releasing" functions or remote upgrades to the car.
Those that can optimize the operation of the engine and improve the range (and if you want to be conspiratorial - also offset it if you don't upgrade), those that improve performance like Mercedes does or alternatively additions to the entertainment experience and driving in the car as part of improving the audio system, such as turning on "dormant" speakers In the car, the audio is installed but does not play.
However, a recent survey shows that unlike the models we are willing to accept in streaming or computing services - when it comes to a car, most people prefer to know what they are paying for in advance and not discover surprises down the road.
Updates from the audio system to performance improvement (photo: Mercedes)
The survey conducted by the research company "Autolist" examined the position of 1,200 respondents who are in the process of purchasing a new car.
Of the respondents, 69% said they would not be interested in entering into a transaction that requires monthly subscription fees.
12% of the respondents were not sure what their position was, another 12% said that it did not matter to them how they pay for the equipment in advance or with subscription fees and only 7% answered that they would like to use the payment of vehicle subscription fees in exchange for services and upgrades.
When the researchers broke down the answers according to the different ages of the respondents, the picture became more interesting.
Interesting, but not surprising.
Because the highest percentage of acceptance of the payment model for services with subscription fees was among the younger people surveyed, the so-called Generation Z, that is, those born in the second half of the 1990s and beyond.
In fact, the older the buyers were, the less willing they were to pay in the form of subscription fees for extras such as heating the seats or steering wheel, activating a wireless hotspot in the car, and more.
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"Young buyers have grown into the era where you subscribe to everything," says Corey Laidstone, CEO of Autolist, "music, games, entertainment, clothing, footwear, food, etc.
So the idea of a monthly payment for an extra car is less strange in their eyes than older customers."
Another interesting point is the different attitude not only in terms of willingness to pay according to age, but also for what those surveyed are willing to pay. The answers to the survey show that more customers are willing to accept the The idea of paying for content services such as music and entertainment than on the car's technical capabilities. According to the survey results, 70% of respondents said they would prefer to pay in advance for physical components such as heated seats or automatic lighting. A similar number, 69%, of respondents want to purchase the performance capabilities of the car in the same way - in advance and at the time of buying the car. 44% of respondents think that services such as music services or wireless internet should be included in the price of the car in advance.
Wireless internet and extended roadside assistance services are just two ideas that remote updates can provide (photo: manufacturer website)
By the way, the willingness to pay subscription fees is not at all related to the income level of the customers.
Among those whose annual income is less than $30,000, only 57% said they would not want to pay monthly subscription fees for car services.
Among those with a significantly higher income of $150,000 per year, the percentage of those who would not want a subscription fee route was much higher - 83%, only 6% said they would be willing to pay without a problem.
And these survey data have very interesting implications for the car manufacturers.
First of all, they show that, in general, the public still does not "buy" the vision of paying monthly for capabilities and features in a car.
But he shows that those who are willing to do so are young people and precisely those who buy relatively cheap cars.
There, it is easier for them to "break down" the payment for services into small pieces every month than to pay for it in advance at once.
What happens to the value of the car that is equipped with services for a monthly fee? (Photo: Manufacturer's website)
On the other hand, more affluent buyers who pay a lot of money for a luxury car for example have a hard time with the thought that they are actually getting a "disabled" or "inferior" product and to reach its full potential they have to add money.
How does this go with the fact that the customers of the luxury brands are mostly the elderly and the affluent?
Not easy to crack.
The second question that such a survey raises is about the value of the car as used.
When a customer pays over the course of his ownership some $15-25 for say a massage in the seats or use of all 10 speakers in the car, when he sells it, he sells the car without these extras, that is, they don't increase the value of the car like accessory extras often do .
BMW will pay for seat heating (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
The price list - how much you will pay per month for accessories
So what do the car manufacturers in the US actually offer you for a monthly payment? In Mercedes this can be performance, in BMW accessories, comfort, in Tesla what they call "FSD" and even in Subaru they will ask you for money for something.
BMW -
BMW's list of accessories and price list includes several payment methods, starting with a monthly payment, an annual payment for three years or a purchase at a fixed one-time price. It offers a variety of assistants that start with remote control, which if you want it you will pay 10 dollars a month, 105 dollars a year, 250 dollars for 3 years or a one-time price of $330. Want the car's cameras to record your driving? It will cost $39 for a year, $99 for three years, or $149 for an upfront purchase. Want to be cozy in the butt on cold mornings? Is it worth $18 a month? ? How about $180 a year, $300 for three years or a one-time payment of $415.
Mercedes -
Mercedes offers customers an annual subscription that increases the power of their cars and extends the range they are able to reach.
In the EQE, for $1,200, you can increase the power from 292 to 354 hp and shorten its acceleration by 0.9 seconds to 5.1 seconds. A similar upgrade can also be made in its SUV version, where a second is offset from the time to -6.2 seconds.
Upgrade the safety systems for a monthly fee (Photo: Keinan Cohen)
Tesla -
one of the first and leading manufacturers in this field, thanks to its over-the-air (OTA) update capabilities, has long offered acceleration improvements to the Model 3 LR for $2,000, heated steering wheel and seats for $230, and more.
An upgraded "connectivity" package that includes improvements to traffic reports in the navigation, Sentry mode (cameras that record attempts to damage the car in the parking lot), a web browser and more will cost $9.99 per month or $99 per year.
If you want to upgrade the driving assistance systems and you believe that one day it will also be autonomous, you can pay $199 a month if you have the basic autopilot system or only $99 if you already have the more advanced system.
Subaru -
Even the relatively popular car manufacturer already offers paid services.
The most prominent of them is the use of the company's application that allows remote control of the car with temperature setting, opening doors, drive and more, as well as saving the treatment history, roadside assistance and more.
Prices range from $4.95 per month to $99 per year depending on the package and scope.
Money in the trash?
What would you be willing to pay for each month in a car?
Power addition to the engine
Heated seats and steering wheel
Upgrade to the audio system
Auto is not Netflix, not even a shekel
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