In Germany, South Korea, and other countries, BMW starts selling subscriptions or charging one-time fees to unlock heated seats, engine sound options, and more
The VergeJames Vincent
Context & Ripple Effects
BMW had already tested recurring in-car charges with an $80-a-year Apple CarPlay fee, then reversed course on that pricing for some models. The new program extends the monetization model from a connected-service feature to options already fitted to the vehicle.
The later retreat from hardware-activation subscriptions shows why this launch matters: BMW ultimately drew a line between charges for installed hardware and subscriptions for software functions.
First-order effects
BMW owners in Germany, South Korea, and the other launch markets must pay either recurring or one-time charges to activate specified comfort and sound features.
BMW gains a way to sell the same installed equipment under different access terms, rather than relying solely on the vehicle’s initial option configuration.
Second-order effects
Mercedes, Volkswagen, Toyota, and GM had trialed similar feature subscriptions, so BMW’s rollout adds pressure to establish which vehicle capabilities buyers will accept as paid unlocks rather than standard equipment.
The earlier CarPlay reversal and BMW’s later hardware-subscription withdrawal make customer acceptance a constraint on turning factory-installed features into recurring revenue.
Third-order effects
If automakers retain subscriptions primarily for software while selling hardware functions outright, vehicle pricing will increasingly separate the physical car from the digital services layered on top of it.
The episode points to a boundary-setting phase for car subscriptions: manufacturers can pursue post-sale revenue, but hardware already in the car is less durable territory than software-based functions.
The trend: Automakers are testing post-sale feature monetization, with buyer resistance helping define the boundary between software services and installed hardware.
This is wild — BMW is now selling a monthly subscription service for heated seats in your car. • Monthly fee: $18 • Annual fee: $180 The car will come with all the necessary components, but payment is needed to remove a software block. Welcome to microtransaction hell.
BMW charging a monthly subscription fee for features like heated seats is what happens when recurring revenue envy breaks corporate brains. Stop encouraging this madness by paying for these features, people. https://www.theverge.com/...
BMW starting to charge $18/mo for heated seats around the world is just the beginning — every car company is thinking about recurring revenue this way. Here's Mercedes CEO Ola Kallenius on Decoder a couple weeks ago: https://www.theverge.com/... https://twitter.com/...
A seat heater blocked by software is broken, and the car owner should have the right to repair their seats. https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
this is interesting. the tech to heat the seats is already in the car. And I assume they've factored that into the base price. So they're effectively charging you a monthly fee to enable technology you already own and paid for. https://www.thedrive.com/...
BMW, which is an abbreviation for “Break My Wallet,” honors its namesake by charging for heated car seats. This is not what microtransactions or subscriptions were meant for. If you buy the car you should be able to use the heated seats. Period. 🤦♂️ https://www.theverge.com/...
Then of course this opens an arms race with modders and hackers who'll want to bypass the systems. Opening the door to the right to repair debate, and maybe even FTC scrutiny if BMW declares enabling something you already own a warranty violation?
I have honest Questions about why Ars felt the need to “debunk” this statement, when it really is happening in South Korea and the only clarification is, “no, they haven't switched it on in the US, yet”. Like, they have made the juicero, it now exists in our reality. https://twit…
my least favorite dystopic future is the one in which no direct, embodied relationship to the world is possible, and instead every single aspect of relation is pulled apart (e.g. self-to-body, self-to-others, body-to-world) to be mediated by some opaque and proprietary technology…
Just wait until Blizzard starts making cars too. You won't even be able to change the damn radio station with a legendary gem or whatever. https://twitter.com/...
I'm sorry, y'all. I am not interested in the places new cars are going. I don't want to pay a subscription for heated seats. I don't want to be tracked. I want to be able to fix it myself. My 2005 911 is a perfectly safe, reliable and fun daily driver. https://www.theverge.com/..…
It sucks that this is probably going to work. $18 is chump change to BMW owners. They can either pay money they won't notice missing, or, what? Void their warranty that's worth tens of thousands of bucks? Be like the poors and NOT buy a dick-measuring car? Nah, they'll pay https:…
The year is 2042. You just bought your new car, along with 10 subscriptions. One of them keeping your airbags active. Another one for GPS (with NFT skins & lootboxes). Oh and of course the standard 30 bucks/month to keep the engine from blowing up in your face https://twitter.com…
remember when you could download a crack on limewire to bypass adobe's subscription checks for the software you used to be able to just buy https://twitter.com/... https://twitter.com/...
When we use the terms “technofeudalism” we're really talking about a sort of tax levied by right of ownership that existed in feudalism levied through some sort of individual obligation, and this is like the purest rent-seeking I've ever seen https://www.theverge.com/...