Car companies are heading towards a future in which they will allow the user to pay a monthly or annual subscription to obtain certain benefits, either in terms of comfort for their occupants or to unlock certain technological capabilities for driving. BMW, for its part, aspires to offer this type of opportunity and, in fact, has already started to do so in South Koreathus opening the way to new business options around the world.
BMW has just implemented the subscription service to obtain the possibility of activating heated seats in its models, as published on the official website of BMW in South Korea. At the moment, this service is only offered in the eastern country, although it is more than likely that it will land in other markets, such as Europe, in the coming months.
From its official portal, BMW makes public the cost of obtaining this gadget, since it gives the possibility of signing a subscription for one month, one year, three years or unlimited. For the monthly subscription, it has a price of 24,000 ₩ (about 18 euros at the current exchange rate). All subscription time options They will have a first month of free trials.
However, the price of the rest of the subscription options will represent a financial saving in the long term. The annual service has a price of 176 euros to change (which will mean a saving of 40 euros if compared to the month-to-month payment service); the three-year plan is priced at €283, which will save €365 compared to the monthly fee. Finally, BMW offers the possibility of obtaining this equipment in an unlimited way over time at a cost of 406 euros.
This service is now available for South Korean users of the Connected Drive platform from BMW, where you get the apps and new features for the car. However, this is not the only subscription system offered by the German manufacturer, since in the mentioned platform you can also see the option of another similar accessory.
As a complement to the aforementioned heated seats, BMW offers the possibility of obtaining, in parallel, heated steering wheel. This is offered by a monthly fee of 10 euros, an annual one of 92 euros and one for a period of three years for 161 euros. The complete purchase of this service is 222 euros.
However, the list of possible online purchases is more extensive since other additional gadgets are also offered, although these are in the form of direct purchase and not by temporary subscription service. Among these other advances are get the wireless connection to Apple CarPlay for 305 eurosthe so-called IconicSounds Sport to reproduce false sounds through the interior speakers costs 138 euros or includes the high beam assistant, additional security systems or the Driver Recorder.
These purchases or updates will always be made from the vehicle itself and can be downloaded and installed via OTA. This will be a very interesting advance for automobile companies who already estimate a huge business around this technology. Stellantisfor its part, confirmed that it estimates that it will be able to generate around 23 billion euros per year by the end of this decade through these subscription services.
