Nowadays, it is not enough to buy things anymore, we have to make various subscriptions or micro purchases. This application stands out as one of the most preferred methods by automobile manufacturers recently. Each company handles this system differently, which technically requires additional payment to use the vehicle’s existing features. For example, BMW’s ConnectedDrive Store system is remembered for being much discussed.
While Honda announced that it has developed a similar subscription system, their approach to the idea was different. According to the statement made by the Japanese company, features developed for security purposes will never be part of the subscription system, and users will only pay for features that use data.
Different approach from Honda
In the statement made by Jay Joseph, one of the company’s senior managers, the details of the paid subscription system were also announced. Acura’s remote start features like AcuraLink will require payment as they are used over cellular data. “Someone has to pay the connection fee because there’s an operator. You know, there’s a service provider,” Joseph said. said.
Dave Gardner, another senior executive of the company, said that he thinks that putting all the features in the vehicles and then asking consumers to pay to unlock some of these features is probably not the right method from a consumer perspective. In other words, only the equipment in the vehicle can be used with the subscription system in Honda and Acura. Stating that there are still things that the company can do with the software tool, Gardner says that people may want this.
Honda manager also states that it will be possible to use the vehicle’s safety features without a subscription, but additional features such as automatic parking using sensors can be purchased with a subscription. Even if there is a subscription system for the features already in the vehicle, there is no need to pay to continue using the feature.