Not only video games offer you paid DLCs nowadays. Car manufacturers are also increasingly adopting this model and offering you expensive downloadable add-ons for your vehicle. What features these are and why it is quite controversial, you will find out in this article.
Purchasing cars is already an expensive affair. Often, you also have to decide right away whether you want to pay extra for certain features. For example, if you fancy leather seats in your vehicle, these can easily cost you several hundred euros in addition.
For several years now, some car manufacturers have been experimenting with another lucrative idea, which is already known from video games: offering expensive downloadable add-ons.
These functions are hidden by car manufacturers behind a paywall
If, in the past, you opted for additional features that were not standard, it was usually a tangible investment: after purchasing larger tires, your car is now equipped with them.
What contents are involved? In contrast, DLC content for cars behaves differently. Usually, the purchased features are already included in your car by default but are only unlocked after purchase:
- For example, BMW has been offering a subscription for 17 euros per month for a while now, with which you can unlock your car’s seat heating (via BMW).
- In Tesla cars, however, you have to pay between 99 and 199 euros per month for the autopilot. Additionally, the batteries of the electric cars are limited from the factory. Unlocking the full battery capacity is also hidden behind a paywall.
- And Porsche, Volkswagen, Toyota, and General Motors have also already tested or are considering similar payment models for additional functions.
- Other subscription models are more understandable: Some manufacturers charge for the navigation system in the car; however, the manufacturers also provide you with new, up-to-date map material, speed cameras, and other information.
This week, however, the probably most bizarre advance regarding car DLCs made headlines:
Mercedes has announced a new subscription model for some of its electric cars that will allow them to accelerate faster.
According to the subscription, it should be possible for the manufacturer’s EQ models to accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h about 0.8 to 1 second faster.
Once again, a function is being unlocked that is already installed in the vehicle.
However, the most audacious part is: for the simple software update, customers must pay 1200 US dollars plus taxes annually (source: Mercedes). Converted, this corresponds to about 1167 euros.
How does the community react? The first reactions to this announcement are mostly negative. In the r/cars subreddit, some users express themselves as follows:
Some users even choose clearer language to express their anger:
In general, subscription models for cars do not seem to be well received:
A user draws parallels to video games and streaming providers:
Which cars have such DLC models?
So far, unlocking additional features is mainly possible for vehicles in higher price segments. Car manufacturers assume that wealthier individuals might not mind paying a few euros more monthly. After all, they were already willing to spend 100,000 euros for a new luxury vehicle.
The online magazine Kotaku, however, finds this problematic. Why, they explain as follows:
However, this carries the risk that manufacturers could find a lucrative business model in the idea. And it won’t be long before we could see such subscription models in a Toyota Corolla as well … oh, too late.
Via Kotaku
What do you think about such DLC models for cars? Do you think it’s okay for car manufacturers to charge extra money for features that are already available? Would you subscribe to such a program for additional features in your car?
Feel free to let us know in the comments!
More stories about cars: A BMW driver has installed several RTX 3080 graphics cards in his electric car. The driver is quite well-known as a crypto miner and had already made headlines with another project. You can read the whole story on MeinMMO:
BMW driver installs several RTX 3080 in his car just to annoy you
