The strategy of bill services remotely, upon request, arose thanks to new technologies and had everything to work, if it was interesting for both parties, that is, builder and client. It is easy to imagine the potential for a customer, for example, of an electric vehicle that offered the possibility of “renting” an increase in battery capacity to facilitate travel during the holidays or around Christmas…
In their desire to increase income in any way, certain manufacturers began to make available through subscription equipment that they already supplied as standard in certain equipment levels, when their models were exclusively combustion-powered. We are referring to solutions such as heated seats or steering wheel, massage seats, navigation system or mobile phone, which have always been offered in medium or more expensive equipment levels, but which are now billed separately, through charging a monthly fee, which from the beginning displeased most potential clients.
Although this situation is not exclusive to a specific manufacturer, but is rather common (in general) to the German luxury industry, Pieter Nota, member of BMW management responsible for Sales and Marketing of the brand, recognizes that the number of customers willing to sign an annual contract with a monthly subscription for this type of services is increasingly decreasing.
The note also points out that, in relation to specific equipment, such as heated seats or steering wheels, the number of people interested in committing to a task of this type is decreasing, which explains the Continuous reduction in the number of customers able to commit to making a monthly payment for a device that, until now, they received for free from the manufacturer.
Pieter Nota further confirmed that BMW is convinced that customers are 100% against monthly subscriptions – still to be demonstrated, an option that clashes head-on with the strategy outlined by the German luxury brands–, but only against some, the most obvious and those that clients consider abuse. BMW has not adopted this rule of charging for extra standard equipment in all the markets in which it is present. But, in those where it charges functionalities on demandadmit that there is no great support in relation to systems such as seat heating, or the remote start of some functions.
Most consumers are not willing to pay to have access to systems they are accustomed to in certain brands and price ranges. But, according to a study by Cox Automotive, only 21% of the 2,000 customers surveyed were aware of the existence of services that were sold through a monthly subscription. The study also concludes that 53% of respondents say that a monthly subscription would make sense if it helped reduce the price of the vehicle, indicating that this does not happen. The most worrying detail comes from the fact that 70% of respondents responded that they would choose to buy another brand, if their favorite brand only offered the equipment they prefer through a monthly subscription.
If BMW customers said “no” to the brand regarding the monthly payment for seat heating, Mercedes claims, for its part, that EQ electric model customers have no problem paying more than $1,200/year in monthly subscriptions. On the other hand, Volvo considers that “After buying a high-end car for more than 90,000 euros, we did not feel comfortable charging another 90 cents to have a heated seat”.
Source: Observadora
