Automakers Adding Insane Subscription Fees – NO WAY!

By Lauren Fix

Would you pay to subscribe to heated seats? Or for the navigation? But it’s already in the car, why pay for it? Automakers think you will.

Automakers like BMW, Volvo, General Motors, and Stellantis are eyeballing billions of dollars in revenue from offering a variety of features and services on a subscription basis, rather than as an upfront option when you buy the car. These can range from heated seats, to extra horsepower in an EV, to streaming entertainment in a car.

There’s just one catch: Consumers hate the idea.

That’s according to the latest survey from Autolist.com, which polled more than 1,200 current car shoppers in February 2023 about their opinions on subscription-based services and features.

Autolist.com found that 69 percent of current car shoppers said they would not subscribe to features. Here’s a look at what else their subscription survey uncovered:

Younger shoppers (Gen Z) were the most open to the idea of subscribing, more than Millennials, Gen X, or Baby Boomers; the older the respondent, the more likely it was they would not subscribe to a feature.

Higher-income households were less likely to opt for subscription-based features than lower-income households.

People would most likely consider subscribing to in-vehicle entertainment, while hardware-related features like heated seats were the type of feature people were least willing to subscribe to.

As manufacturers look to profit on their customers they are looking into selling car insurance and autonomous driving or driver assistance products to increase your monthly fees.

They got this idea from Tesla who already charges for premium services. Tesla calls itself a tech company, not a car company and this may be why people are more willing to buy up for services.

While all these new services are improving, General Motors is backing away from Apple Car Play and Android Auto and planning to using Google Maps and changing technologies. Toyota tried that with Entune and switched back as consumers didn’t like it and preferred Apple and Android versions. Making customers happy leads to sales.

Brands that are hoping for a big revenue streams from a subscription model should note that it’s going to take time and convincing to get consumers on board. Rushing into this approach too fast risks alienating a wide swath of car shoppers, particularly those that bring in the biggest profits. I’m sure this will anger many people.

So what is the goal? Car companies are hoping to raise over $1B from these services, or more if they can get you to buy more autonomous driving features. The car companies are not looking to make money on cars but on the services. This may explain why car manufacturers are taking a loss on every electric car and need to make up for the lost revenue. The push back is that consumers do not like the extra fees for basic services. You will decide the outcome based on the free market if you don’t buy the services.

Here’s an example from England: An Audi owner tried to click a button most of us use every so often in our car. The Sync button on the climate control. But when this owner clicked the button a warning flashed on the center display saying the feature wasn’t available! With no way to purchase the service from inside the vehicle, and no information on how to active it. This is what you have to look forward to, everything on your car will be an option, with little charges for each little thing.

 

Lauren Fix, The Car Coach®, is a nationally recognized automotive expert, analyst, author, and television host.  A trusted car expert, Lauren provides an insider’s perspective on a wide range of automotive topics and aspects, energy, industry, consumer news, and safety issues.   

Lauren is the CEO of Automotive Aspects and the Editor-in-Chief of Car Coach Reports, a global automotive news outlet. She is an automotive contributor to national and local television news shows, including Fox News, Fox Business, CNN International, The Weather Channel, Inside Edition, Local Now News, Community Digital News, and more. Lauren also co-hosts a regular show on ABC.com with Paul Brian called “His Turn – Her Turn” and hosts regular radio segments on USA Radio – DayBreak. 

Lauren is honored to be inducted into the Women’s Transportation Hall of Fame and a Board Member of the Buffalo Motorcar Museum and Juror / President for the North American Car, Utility & Truck of the Year Awards.  

Check her out on Twitter and Instagram @LaurenFix.

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