Mercedes-Benz to launch electric car upgrades on a subscription basis
That the automotive sector is becoming more and more technological seems more than obvious, doesn’t it, and that means that there is also a way of selling some of the cars’ functionalities.
In recent years we have become accustomed to subscribing to different services, a subscription that consists of a monthly or annual payment that gives us access to a service or functionality. After that time, if we want to continue having that service, we have to continue paying monthly.
The clearest case to understand the subscription business is Netflix, and I’m sure you have at some point contracted their streaming TV service or heard about it. With a monthly payment you have access to a huge catalogue of films, series and documentaries.
Well, all this is now being applied to the automotive business and some manufacturers are already starting to include it in their line of business.
The first has been Tesla, where we can subscribe to Full Self Driving (in the US) or the premium connectivity package, a monthly payment that gives us access to extra features.
BMW recently also joined this trend or new business, with a subscription system that certainly left us perplexed, and that is that to have for example heated seats we have to pay a monthly fee of €17 per month.
And now Mercedes-Benz is also joining this subscription business and is starting to apply it to its electric cars such as the EQE.
On the occasion of the launch of the EQE in the United States, the brand has started this line of business where customers of this vehicle can subscribe to a package to make their vehicle more powerful. The subscription lasts for one year and costs $1,200. In other words, $100 a month for extra power in your Mercedes-Benz.
Purchasing this package will increase the power of your EQE. For example, if your model is the EQE 350 4MATIC, the power output will be 260 kW (348 hp) instead of 215 kW (292 hp).
Of course, this extra power will only be available for one year, if after that year you do not pay the 1,200 dollars again, you will return to the initial power of 215 kW (292 hp).
At the moment, as we said, this option is only available in the United States, but it is obvious to think that it will also reach the rest of the countries in the future, as well as offering more monthly or annual subscriptions for your vehicle.
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