Although the subscriptions have timidly landed in the motor world, they have generated a whole torrent of comments: many of them negative. Last week we told you that Mercedes offered this service in the United States to unlock the full potential of some of the EQ family models, the electric ones. We have now known that the European legislation prevents, for the moment, doing the same in the Old Continent.
There are several media that collect statements from the different managers of the brand in several of the European markets. In the UK, according to carscoopshave confirmed that this subscription service to improve power will not be offered there or in Europe: “This feature is only related to Mercedes models in the United States and Canada. At the moment, it is not available in the UK and Europe.
“Legal Matters”
Top Gear NLFor his part, he has spoken with one of the spokesmen for the German brand in the Netherlands who has provided some more information. In the US there are no legal objections to subscriptions, but in Europe it seems so. Not surprisingly, the representative of Mercedes explained that “legal issues” are those that currently prevent that the Stuttgart manufacturer offers a subscription-based power upgrade for its electrics.
There were no further comments on the matter, so it is unknown what laws would block these services. Currently, brands can update the power of some of their models in Europe through free updates, as Tesla and Polestar do: the key is that it is a free, permanent and unique service. Therefore, it is possible to think that the legal problem would reside in the collection of an annual subscription to add horsepower to the vehicle in question.
$1,200 a year
In the United States, however, drivers who own a model in the EQ family will have to pay if they want to unlock their engine’s full potential. Specifically, 1,200 dollars (1,166 euros) plus taxes per year. This fee includes the unlocking of the ‘Dynamic’ driving mode, an increase in maximum power (between 20 and 24%, depending on the original factory figure), in torque and, at the same time, in overall performance: in this way, acceleration from 0 to 100 km/h improves between 0.8 and 0.9 seconds.
However, this service does not seem to be very popular. The reason? Drivers seem to feel cheated because they are paying for a vehicle with an engine that would intentionally have its full potential ‘hidden’ behind a subscription, so the brand would not have to do anything to make it faster or more powerful.
Nevertheless, there is a possibility that, in the future, the regulations will change and Mercedes can offer its extra power subscription service in Europe. It will be interesting to see how long these types of initiatives last… especially considering the reactions that were generated when BMW offered, in Europe, heated seats in exchange for a monthly fee.
