BMW: It’s in the car
In a world where everything is a microtransaction, it’s a surprise that auto manufacturers are now only clinging to this trend, for the worse of course. This is probably why BMW drivers don’t ever use their blinkers, they haven’t paid for the Blinker DLC yet.
BMW is now selling heated seats separately via a subscription in selected countries. Soon, other car manufacturers, not just BMW, may start selling you parts via subscription too. So if you want those freshly new headlights, you gotta pay extra. Oh, maybe even then, you can get early access where 50% of your car is functional and you gotta wait for a few more years before you can use your car to the fullest via updates. Ain’t that nice?
In its US equivalent pricing, you can heat your BMW’s front seats for $18 monthly. There are also options for yearly ($180), for three years ($300) or ridiculously, “unlimited access” for $415. If you paid for the whole car, you expect to get all the features for the car, right? The subscription feature is available for customers in the UK, Germany, South Africa, and New Zealand.
Jake Groves on Twitter shared his experience regarding this subscription feature. Apparently, this isn’t just the only microtransaction BMW is selling, there is a number of them too. Most of these are automation and software but are essential for a comfortable and safe driving experience
Back in 2020, BMW announced that some features would become microtransactions. Of course, customers did not react positively to it and accused of BMW r but BMW has pulled a sneaky by adding a software block so that you can’t use it without paying first.
It would be soon enough before BMW Philippines and other manufacturers get a hold of this idea. Now imagine paying Php500 for extra safety features. That would be terrible now, won’t it?
Source: The Verge