These days, many car buyers scrutinize their buying decisions by comparing the features that come standard between certain cars. As a result, it is fair to say that some of the most remarkable features in some of the most desirable cars are locked behind some sort of paywall or subscription.
But while certain individual paint colors and technical features like advanced, home theater-esque sound systems can be four to five-figure options offered by luxury brands, some of the cool features advertised by automakers are locked behind a monthly subscription.
The most notorious automaker to use this sort of model is Elon Musk’s Tesla (TSLA) . Although its Full Self-Driving feature requires a $99 per month subscription, it also locks features like music and video streaming, in-car, karaoke, Sentry Mode, and Dog Mode behind a $9.99 per month or $99 per year “Premium Connectivity” subscription.
The dashboard of a Tesla Model 3. A new survey found that most drivers aren’t opting into automakers’ connected car services subscriptions.
Sjoerd van der Wal/Getty Images
Three-quarters of drivers don’t want more fees for features, survey says.
However, a new survey conducted by Smartcar, a developer of “connected car” software, found that most drivers aren’t opting into automakers’ connected car services subscriptions.
In a survey of more than 1,000 drivers in the U.S. and Europe, 76% of drivers said they did not sign up for the connected services subscription offered by their automakers, services like HondaLink, FordPass, and similar.
However, for those who did opt in and are subscribed, just 49% signed up for the additional paid services that require an extra fee, while the majority are in for the free services. Only 11% of those surveyed said they have no interest in a subscription service, while 50% said they’d try them out if the cost were lower.
Related: Mazda angers owners by making them pay for popular feature
However, it should be known that some features behind paywalls were once offered for free with the car. In August 2024, Mazda owners aired their grievances after the automaker removed remote start functionality from its key fobs and moved it to the Mazda Connected Services smartphone app that requires a $10 per-month subscription.
But for those who do pay up, Smartcar notes that 74% of drivers were satisfied with the cost of their subscription.
However, 61% said they wanted more features and services included in the price they already paid, while 67% were willing to pay more if “more valuable features” were included.
Smartcar found that drivers valued features like emergency assistance, maintenance reminders, navigation and traffic alerts, vehicle diagnostics, and remote features such as remote engine start, door locks, and a vehicle locator the most.
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Some automakers are not into “nickel and diming” drivers.
Some automakers recognize that some are taking it a bit too far with the whole subscription model.
In the summer of 2022, BMW made headlines after it started selling a monthly subscription for certain factory-installed features, like heated seats, automatic high beams, and adaptive cruise control in select markets, including the UK, Germany, and South Korea, through its ‘ConnectedDrive’ program.
Due to massive backlash and low subscription numbers, it dropped the subscription in September 2023.
In February 2024, Mercedes-Benz Chief Software Officer Magnus Östberg criticized BMW’s approach to in-car subscriptions, noting that its rival did it incorrectly.
“Our philosophy at Mercedes is that [subscriptions] are going to be a luxury experience. That means we’re not ‘nickeling and diming’ our customers. It’s more of a holistic experience,” Ostberg told Top Gear.
“But yes, our customers, of course, will have to subscribe to a package and so forth, but we believe that our customers don’t want to be ‘nickel and dimed’ in their face. That’s not what our customers are looking for.”
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