BMW to start charging £15 per month for heated car seats with ‘Netflix for cars’

Posted on : July 14, 2022

BMW is reportedly set to start charging drivers a monthly subscription fee if they want to add heated seats to their car after purchase.

According to the Verge, BMW is trialling a seat-heating feature as an optional upgrade to its ConnectedDrive store in the UK, Germany, South Korea, New Zealand and South Africa.

ConnectedDrive gives you the option to add new services to your vehicle and pay a subscription fee for these, including Apple CarPlay, automatic beam assistance, map updates, and steering wheel heating.

READ NEXT: Uber sued by 550 women over 'kidnap, assault, stalking and rape' claims

In the case of heated seats, BMW is set to charge £15 per month or offer a year subscription for £150.

"If the hardware and electronics for heated seats are in your car, you've already paid for them. BMW doesn't expend materials and labour on spec. They are just charging extra to actually use them", wrote Twitter user 'UngovernableChi'.

Another user, CryptoJK, joked: "The year is 2050. BMW announces cars that only go straight. If you want to turn you will have to pay a small monthly fee."

BMW has attempted to clarify the issue, stating that "drivers in the US do NOT have to pay a subscription for heated seats or for any other options ordered at time of purchase." It seems that the subscription feature will be for those drivers who want to add heated seats and other features on after having bought the car.

  • Elon Musk's tweets to be used against him in Twitter lawsuit -including poo emoji

The car firm said on Twitter that customers will be able to purchase a trial of new features, and then decide if they want to purchase it outright.

It added: "For the people in the back: if a BMW is ordered with heated seats, this will not go away, nor do we have any plans to introduce a monthly charge for this option."

Car companies are increasingly introducing 'microtransactions' that many gamers will be familiar with. This is where features that are usually included as standard are given to consumers in exchange for an additional one-off or recurring payment.

Tesla charges a steep monthly fee for those who want access to the AI-powered 'full self-driving' beta which makes the vehicle semi-autonomous.

READ MORE:

  • Church of England vicars vote in favour of online ID checks for Internet porn
  • 'AI baby' is born that can think just like a three-month-old human
  • Bereaved pet owner turned beloved dead cat into a terrifying flying machine
  • NASA plan to land 'nukes on the Moon' to power colony could blow up in their faces
  • Contact lenses that 'replace smartphones' with eyeballs worn by humans for first time
  • Motoring
  • Technology

Source: Read Full Article