Over a year ago, I wrote a piece on this very media hub about the trend of auto manufacturers offering customers over-the-air (OTA) microtransactions to unlock options on their vehicles. I talked about what Tesla, BMW, VW, and Kia had introduced in that area, and whether customers would see this as a benefit, or would feel as though they were being nickel-and-dimed for things that previously came with the vehicle, like heated seats, drive modes, and built-in dash cams. (I also mentioned then that Ford had hinted at OTA microtransactions and, sure enough, they now have a Blue Cruise subscription, which follows the same model.)
Well, we now have something of an answer. BMW recently announced that they are dropping OTA transactions for features like heated seats or heated steering wheels. (It should be noted that these OTA transactions were being offered in the UK, Germany, New Zealand, and South Africa, but not in the U.S.). Kudos to BMW for recognizing that these types of transactions weren’t going over well with customers and deciding to pull the plug. Instead, they will focus their attention on software, rather than the right to use hardware that’s already built into the vehicle.