BMW deems drivers worthy of warmth, ends heated car seat subscription
- Reference: 1694243110
- News link: https://www.theregister.co.uk/2023/09/09/bmw_car_seats/
- Source link:
The manufacturer began selling access to factory-installed heated seats and the heated steering wheel in 2020, though only in some markets, such as South Korea and the United Kingdom.
In South Korea, seat heat was available for the equivalent of [1]about $18 per month , or $406 if purchased in perpetuity. In the UK, [2]the price was about the same.
[3]
This was after the company said it would charge [4]an $80 annual subscription fee to use Apple CarPlay in BMWs and subsequently [5]reversed that decision following customer complaints.
[6]
[7]
"Our Connected Drive portfolio has always been dynamic, and we reserve the right to vary our offering structure according to the needs of individual markets around the world," said Jay Hanson, product and technology spokesperson for BMW USA, in an email to The Register .
"Heated seats and steering wheel were never available on a short-term subscription basis in the US market. They were strictly either standard equipment or factory options, depending on the model."
[8]
Hanson said that the [9]BMW Connected Drive store currently lists various upgrades as subscriptions or one-time purchases. "It’s important to point out that with the exceptions of Traffic Camera Information and IconicSounds Sport, all are available ex-factory as well," he said. "They are not subscription-only."
Traffic Camera Information (Safety Camera Information in the UK) is a [10]£25 per year subscription to a service that identifies traffic cameras, presumably to avoid having driving violations captured by the authorities. IconicSounds Sport, available for [11]a one-time charge of £99 , "plays BMW engine sound inside the vehicle."
Hanson added, "We will continue to refine the Connected Drive offerings to make the latest technologies available to our customers and meet the demand in the markets."
[12]
Indeed, connected services from automakers are expected to grow. One aspect of over-the-air updates is the potential cost savings from being able to perform software fixes without a factory recall.
[13]BMW updates 90% of EVs sold in the US over power software bug
[14]Hyundai and Kia issue software upgrades to thwart killer TikTok car theft hack
[15]Tesla's self-driving code may ignore stop signs, act unsafe. Patch coming ... soon
[16]Cruise emits software fix after self-driving car slams into bus
In [17]a paper published in 2020, "The Value of Connectivity in the Automotive Sector – A First Look," author Bowman Heiden, co-director of the Center for Intellectual Property in Gothenburg (CIP), Sweden and Visiting Scholar at Stanford's Hoover Institution, wrote that automakers see connected services as a strategic imperative and a driver of future revenue.
He wrote, "A review of the annual reports of leading automakers confirms that connectivity is considered one of the four critical megatrends facing the automotive industry together with autonomous driving, shared mobility, and electrification, where connectivity can be seen as both a separate and integrated value proposition to these other megatrends."
Seeing as everyone loves cloud subscriptions, get ready for car-as-a-service future [18]READ MORE
Heiden says the trend began in 1996 with GM's OnStar service and expanded as cellular networking evolved in the 2000s.
In 2016, McKinsey Advanced Industries [19]predicted that on-demand mobility and data-driven services could account for about $1.5 trillion by 2030, a potential 30 percent increase in automotive sector revenue. Data connectivity services could represent somewhere between $450-$750 billion annually by then.
Not every automaker has been able to make subscription services appealing to customers. While Tesla has achieved some notoriety for selling over-the-air updates to extend the range of its vehicles and for offering not-quite "Full Self-Driving" for $99-$199 per month, other companies like [20]Ford and [21]Cadillac have got rid of car subscription services. ®
Get our [22]Tech Resources
[1] https://www.bmwblog.com/2022/07/11/bmw-heated-seats-subscription/
[2] https://www.carthrottle.com/news/bmw-now-charges-ps15-month-heated-seats-already-installed-your-car
[3] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=2&c=2ZPxCRG8kPOtZripRgqoJ2wAAAgM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D2%26raptor%3Dcondor%26pos%3Dtop%26test%3D0
[4] https://www.thedrive.com/news/29134/bmw-is-charging-owners-an-80-annual-subscription-fee-to-use-apple-carplay
[5] https://9to5mac.com/2019/12/04/bmw-will-no-longer-require-a-subscription-to-use-carplay-in-some-cars/
[6] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZPxCRG8kPOtZripRgqoJ2wAAAgM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[7] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZPxCRG8kPOtZripRgqoJ2wAAAgM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[8] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=4&c=44ZPxCRG8kPOtZripRgqoJ2wAAAgM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D4%26raptor%3Dfalcon%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[9] https://www.bmwusa.com/explore/connecteddrive.html
[10] https://www.bmw.co.uk/en/shop/ls/dp/Base_Safetycam_gb
[11] https://www.bmw.co.uk/en/shop/ls/dp/ISS_Offer_gb
[12] https://pubads.g.doubleclick.net/gampad/jump?co=1&iu=/6978/reg_onprem/personaltech&sz=300x50%7C300x100%7C300x250%7C300x251%7C300x252%7C300x600%7C300x601&tile=3&c=33ZPxCRG8kPOtZripRgqoJ2wAAAgM&t=ct%3Dns%26unitnum%3D3%26raptor%3Deagle%26pos%3Dmid%26test%3D0
[13] https://www.theregister.com/2023/01/09/bmw_ev_update/
[14] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/15/hyundai_kia_software_upgrades/
[15] https://www.theregister.com/2023/02/17/tesla_fsd_upgrade_recall/
[16] https://www.theregister.com/2023/04/10/cruise_software_update/
[17] https://papers.ssrn.com/sol3/papers.cfm?abstract_id=3521488
[18] https://www.theregister.com/2021/09/29/car_chip_makers/
[19] https://www.mckinsey.com/industries/automotive-and-assembly/our-insights/disruptive-trends-that-will-transform-the-auto-industry
[20] https://www.engadget.com/2019-09-12-ford-sells-off-its-monthly-car-subscription-service-canvas-to-fair.html
[21] https://www.wsj.com/articles/cadillac-cancels-1-800-a-month-car-subscription-service-1541174837
[22] https://whitepapers.theregister.com/
connected services as a strategic imperative and a driver of future revenue
Or in other words, we hate just selling you an overpriced car for a one-off payment, and we want to skin you a little at a time forever. And connected services looks like a nice easy way to do it, because data, right?
I wonder how we even managed to live without such beneficial semi-deities micromanaging every aspect of our lives?
Re: connected services as a strategic imperative and a driver of future revenue
I wonder how we even managed to live...
We ignorants do not know what we are missing out on until it is told to us ignorants that we are missing out which makes us inevitably feel at a loss of what we do not have and become more ignorant to cope with the situation until we cannot ignore it any longer after which we embark on a shopping spree to cope with our new found ignorance.
Hopefully...
The "VP for wanky ideas" career is now on the skids.
Re: Hopefully...
It is called Executive of Silly Driving Walks .
As mandated by the ministry of Silly Walks.
The trouble is that it’s all too easy to lose reputation - but it’s the devil of a job to regain it again.
I used to have a BMW - 530i - and it was a very nice car. Would I buy another BMW now? Well no. It seems that a modern BMW is a car that rusts, catches fire, and drains its drivers pockets through weird subscriptions.
Musk has done a number on Teslas reputation (and I’m guessing it’s Musk who mandated thin paint and poor build quality in order to maximise profit)
Volvo have ditched saloon and estate cars in favour of silly SUVs that will seldom if ever go off road (yes, I know, it’s not a reputation thing - but still. My next car will not be from them)
Mercedes rusts.
But…
Skoda used to be the butt of all jokes and VW have rehabilitated that brand. So it can be done. And VW and Skoda still make proper cars. So top work, the ladies and gentlemen from Wolfsburg.
Sadly, both Volvo and VW have succumbed to the modern fetish for touch-screen controls. Beautiful though the Volvo interiors are, they have just about everything controlled through the central touchscreen, and it’s an utter PITA to do anything as simple as adjust the AC temperature.
And of course just about every recent VW car review I’ve read makes a point of grumbling about their even more annoying touchscreen UI.
Škoda, from what I’ve heard, still have old-fashioned physical knobs and buttons for the crucial stuff like AC, and if that’s true, credit to them.
And don't forget the hand warmer on the back window!
It seems VW might be learning/listening as early reviews of the latest ID say it has far more buttons.
My current vehicle is a 2021 Skoda, and sadly it too has succumbed to the VW connected fetish, with "smart" dashboard. The heater controls are indeed physical, but little else is. Every time I start it, I have to wait 30-60 seconds for the navigation to initialize before I can select other options. It won't remember them on switch off because apparently it's dangerous to default to anything except the normal soggy suspension settings. Even resetting the trip counter requires a trip through several menus, not just a simple button beside the speedometer.
One possible advantage of the connected mode is that it's possible to remotely start the heater 20 minutes before I want to leave, nice on a winter morning. Or at least it would be if their servers weren't so overwhelmed that I can rarely connect successfully between 8am and 9am.
I really regret parting with my old-model Audi.
So they are charging a monthly fee for something that, to the company, is a fixed one-time cost.
In my opinion, this is an attempt at deliberate obfuscation of pricing.
Cars don't last forever, so the subscription price clearly can be turned into a total price, statistically at least. Factor in interests and depreciation and stuff, and the subscription could be turned into its equivalent fixed one-time cost to the owner. It's roughly the reverse process of taking a loan to make a big purchase. But I bet that the price you'd come up with that way would be far higher than the price anyone in their right mind would pay for a heated steering wheel.
Therefore - deliberate obfuscation of pricing. Legitimate? Sure. Offensive to the customer's intelligence? Yup. Likely to make me want to avoid any brand that tries to pull this on me? Very much.
You've already paid for the heating elements to be fitted in the seats, they are just charging you extra to use them, and going to extra expense to make the car less functional by restricting access to this feature.
I'm OK with charging a subscription for things like a revenue camera database, because that is something that needs to be updated, and that requires extra work beyond what it took to get your car in its completed state to the BMW dealer forecourt.
Just give me a convenient place to put my phone though, as I would prefer to use that for things like navigation.
"megatrends"
I don't know about my fellow commentards here, but this term has not aged well. I will forever connect it with AMI, American Megatrends Inc. and boot screens...
McKinsey?
Going what I know (and think) of that company, I wouldn't be surprised if *they* put those ideas into the heads of carmaker execs in the first place.
If you follow the chain of all that seems to be in corporations, from open plan to staff attrition through "back to the office" and everything in between, it seems you find their name pop up somewhere.
Still wouldn't buy one. At least, not one from the last 20 years.
But it is a step back in the right direction.
Darn. My model was literally the last model offering "perpetual" heated seats. I was hoping it was going to increase its resale value in later years XD
Long live
The Ultimate Driving [Dumb] Machine.
Free Heated Seats
My car has heated seats. Didn't cost a penny extra. Gets nice and toasty, especially when the car has been left with the roof down on a sunny day
Indicators?
Will they ever reduce the subscription fee for indicators (blinkers)? I don't know how much they're charging for them now, but it must be damned expensive 'cause I've yet to see a BMW driver using them.