Subscriptions are a thing of the day these days, and of course automakers aren’t about to be left behind in the business. bmw was the first brand to opt for this pay-per-use system and General Motors followed suit, but they are not the only ones. Now, the subscription rescheduling are also available in Mercedes.
Mercedes Benz offers equipment by subscription in some markets since the launch of the eqs. However, it is now one step further, offering its clients the possibility of increase power of your vehicle for a period of time in exchange for an annual fee.
Mercedes offers subscription reprogramming
Since a time ago, bmw It provides equipment on a pay-per-use basis, for example, if you want your car to have heated seats, you will have to pay a monthly fee for as long as you want to use this extra, such as in the winter months.
This system is as simple as accessing its website and subscribing. Just like you would with Netflix, Spotify, or any of the many other subscriptions available today. Sure, the car comes standard with heated seats, but this feature is disabled until the customer checks out.
GM is also looking to offer extra equipment on its cars through software subscriptionsbut, until now, no company had tried to increase the power of a car in exchange for a monthly fee.
But, taking advantage of the launch of the Mercedes-Benz EQE in USA, the German manufacturer has started this plan. In the same way as the latest launches of the firm, the electric sedan allows you to update your software wirelessly, as if it were a cell phone. And this function will serve to ‘reprogram’ the engine remotely (if the customer pays for this function).
The German manufacturer will enable this option over the coming weeks. To do this, all you have to do is go to its website, identify yourself with your ‘Mercedes me’ personal account and pay for the corresponding service. The subscription costs $1,200 (1,162 euros at current exchange rates) and lasts for one year. After those twelve months, the vehicle will return to its original power.
This service will be available in the Mercedes-Benz EQE Y Mercedes-Benz EQE SUValthough for the moment only for the US in exchange for the $1,200 per year, the EQE 350 4MATIC saloon will go from 215 kW (292 Hp) to 260 kW (348 Hp); Thanks to this, the time it takes to reach 100 km/h will be minimized, going from 6.0 to 5.1 seconds.
The identically powered Mercedes-Benz EQE SUV 350 4MATIC will have the same increase in available power, but will now go from 0 to 100 km/h in 5.2 seconds instead of the original 6.2 seconds.
For its part, in the Mercedes-Benz EQE 450 4MATIC and EQE SUV 450 4MATIC, power will increase from 265 kW (355 Hp) to 330 kW (442 Hp). In this case, the saloon will accelerate from 0 to 100 km/h in 4.5 seconds (originally it was 5.3 seconds), and the SUV in 4.9 seconds (5.8 seconds as standard).
Insurance companies
This service has been possible thanks to remote updates and electric motors, which may require official reprogramming. The difference with conventional reprogramming is that this extra power is only available for a few months; After that time, you have to pay again to keep the car on power.
Sure, increasing power is easy to get used to and it takes a lot to get used to when a car loses power. Mercedes is surely aware of this and hopes to “hook” its customers with this service.
It remains to be seen if car insurance has proof of the service, since it is something new and it is logical to think that it will not cost the same to insure a 292 Hp car as a 348 Hp one. They may also decide that an extra must be paid for the duration of the subscription.
Regardless of that, this service is intended for the North American market, so you have to wait and see if it reaches Europe.
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