Car brand Mercedes-Benz is now quietly beginning to ask its drivers to pay an extra monthly subscription fee to gain full access to the car they are own or lease.
This new scheme affects select electric vehicle models, namely the EQE And EQS models, according to car appraisal website Edmunds.
Mercedes-Benz is now offering what they call “Acceleration On-Demand Upgrade,” reports The Fast Lane Car. To purchase and download the amped performance, users can access it the Mercedes Me Connect Store online, and is installed digitally to the car.
Prices range anywhere from $60 a month to $2,950 for the lifetime of the car.
Edmunds details the differences in added horsepower according to the price car owners are willing to pay:
Mercedes EQE 350 sedans see a bump from 288 hp to 348 hp (+60 hp), with the 0-60 mph time falling from 6.0 seconds to 5.1 seconds. Pricing is set at $60 per month, $600 per year or $1,950 for the lifetime of the vehicle. Power and pricing figures are the same for the EQE 350 SUV, though the 0-60 time is slightly slower — the update drops it from 6.2 seconds to 5.2 seconds.
The story is very similar for the EQS 450 sedan and SUV. Power rises from 355 hp to 435 hp (+80 hp) for both, though the SUV is, naturally, slower to 60 mph. By paying Mercedes for features (that simply should made be available as a factory option), owners are able to shave times from 5.3 seconds to 4.5 seconds and from 5.8 seconds to 4.9 seconds for the sedan and SUV, respectively. Pricing for the EQS SUV and sedan is the same — $90 per month, $900 per year or $2,950 for the lifetime of the car.
Edmunds says that Mercedes is set to “make a killing off selling what used to simply be a factory-installed optional extra for a monthly fee.”
However, Mercedes has been reluctant to commit the ‘sin’ of charging subscription fees for other standard functions like heated seats as “digital extras,” something BMW and Toyota have experimented with in other countries and faced supreme backlash for, and therefore have yet to trial this in the U.S.
Kelly Blue Book reported in January that BMW has quietly begun to start charging drivers for adding horsepower as well, including other drive-assist features and remote-start, for example. KBB broke down of the subscription-based options on offer and their monthly/yearly prices:
| Feature | Model Compatibility | One-time | 3 Years | 1 Year | 1 Month |
| Remote Engine Start | 2019 and newer vehicles with automatic transmission and 4- or 6-cylinder engine | $330 | $250 | $105 | $10 |
| Drive Recorder | Vehicles equipped with BMW Live Cockpit Professional and Parking Assistant Plus | $149 | $99 | $39 | N/A |
| Traffic Camera | 2020 and new vehicles equipped with BMW Live Cockpit Professional | N/A | N/A | $25 | N/A |
| Driving Assistant Plus with Stop & Go | Certain 2022 and newer iX SUVs | $950 | $580 | $210 | $20 |
| Parking Assistant Professional | Certain 2022 and newer iX SUVs, X7 SUVs, and 7 Series sedans equipped with Parking Assistant Plus | $220 | $130 | $50 | $5 |
Emdunds forecasts that subscription-based automobiling is the way of the future.
Subscriptions like this are set to become the norm in the auto industry. Automakers have routinely been able to charge for both software and hardware features in addition to the already considerable cost of their vehicles without any real backlash from consumers.
It’s unfortunate buyers are nickel-and-dimed over features that should be available upon delivery of the vehicle, and this is unlikely to change without repercussions for automakers.
Edmunds predicts
KBB has a similar forecast, noting that this trends was a longtime coming and proves potentially beneficial for manufacturers on their end, but does not help the consumer as much as brands would have the customer believe. They add this could also signal the end of car ownership.
But it could also end the idea of ever paying off your car.
Early surveys show that buyers don’t consider that a worthwhile trade. In a recent Cox Automotive survey, only a quarter of car shoppers said they would pay subscription fees.
KBB says
AUTHOR COMMENTARY
The soul of the sluggard desireth, and hath nothing: but the soul of the diligent shall be made fat.
Proverbs 13:4
More and more car manufacturers are making sure that people will never own their cars. Prices of new vehicles are astronomical right now, and many people are having their cars repossessed because they cannot make the payments due to interest rates and lenders cutting off credit. Now brands are amplifying this by now nickel and diming drivers for an increasing number of basic features.
Ford not that long ago filed patents that will allow the vehicle to repossess itself and drive back to the dealer if the monthly payments are not made on time!
Other brands unrelated to cars are doing subscriptions, too. Apple is now also considering making their iPhones and other Apple products subscription-based.
It’s no more ownership of anything, just renters: “You’ll own nothing and be happy.”
[7] Who goeth a warfare any time at his own charges? who planteth a vineyard, and eateth not of the fruit thereof? or who feedeth a flock, and eateth not of the milk of the flock? [8] Say I these things as a man? or saith not the law the same also? [9] For it is written in the law of Moses, Thou shalt not muzzle the mouth of the ox that treadeth out the corn. Doth God take care for oxen? [10] Or saith he it altogether for our sakes? For our sakes, no doubt, this is written: that he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope. (1 Corinthians 9:7-10).
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All part of Agenda 2030 and America deserves it!
America is going to fall and hard!
Jacob, did you get the news about Pat Robertson?
Yes, Andrew, you do not need to keep reminding me of something every time you email me.
Yes sir I apologize. I wasn’t trying to bombard you.