Everyone Got BMW's Heated Seats Subscription Wrong

If we're anything alike, then you might also dislike microtransactions. I don't like paying monthly for everything I use. It's annoying to include all kinds of subscriptions in the monthly budget. But it'll get even more irritating as time passes because the practice seems to become mainstream. Even printing is being put behind a monthly paywall, which, honestly, is just bewildering.

However, it's understandable that companies want more money from us. Businesses are looking for ways in which to improve their revenue and make the shareholders happy. If that means asking customers $5 per month for a specific feature, they'll do it. Designers know it all too well.

For automakers, it's even worse. The much-needed transition to zero-emission vehicles is costing legacy brands billions, but they aren't seeing any meaningful returns yet. Tesla, which was built from the ground up as an all-electric auto manufacturer, became cashflow positive after 17 years since its inception and 12 years after Elon Musk took over.

Rivian, another EV maker, expects to become profitable next year – 15 years after it was founded.

Now, imagine your business was based on making gas- or diesel-powered cars and having tens of suppliers helping you with the parts needed. You must move all that successful operation to the second echelon and focus on making much simpler vehicles with the help of new suppliers and be ready to face new challenges.

A new path forward

Securing the raw materials needed in batteries, for example, isn't something easy to do. Moreover, there are a lot of chemistries available and dependable energy storage units are still not that common. Replacing one is pricey, and you don't want to pay $15,000 or more for a new high-voltage battery as an automaker.

On average, mainstream EVs require 10 to 100 times fewer parts than an auto with an exhaust system. That cuts into the profits of automakers like BMW, who cannot rely on selling as many OEM-certified parts as for its fossil fuel-powered units.

When the car you're making has a much simpler build, the customer's after-sale expenditure will likely be very low. All they have to do is make sure the car runs, ensure the wiper blades do their job, verify that the tires are correctly inflated, and maybe check that the lighting system works fine.

We're not kidding. That's basically it. There are no mandatory oil changes or engine decarbonization processes needed.

Even the braking system doesn't need too much attention because the motors make use of an energy recovery mechanism known as regenerative braking. When you slow down, the motor spins in reverse and creates energy that's added to the battery. Going downhill for a couple of miles could add around 10 to 15% of the kWh consumed to go uphill. When decelerating, a gas-powered car will never be able to add more fuel to the tank.

If all that seems unbelievable, look at Ford. One of America's most important automakers and an integral part of the "Detroit Three" group expects to lose over $4 billion this year because of its all-electric division known as "Model e." That figure becomes even more worrying when you realize that the Blue Oval sells two mainstream EVs (the Mustang Mach-E and the F-150 Lightning) and the E-Transit van.

Securing the bag (of cash)

Now, you get the picture. Even though automakers sometimes create cars that foster the creation of communities and inspire people to dream about owning some specific models, they remain for-profit entities at the end of the day. If they can't be profitable… Progress can't happen, and they stand to lose to the competition.

So, BMW figured out a way to earn more money as it moved forward with completely electrifying its fleet. It introduced a digital shop known as the ConnectedDrive store. A heated seats subscription was also introduced among the many possible upgrades available to interested buyers.

Mind you, that didn't mean BMW would lock such a basic feature behind a monthly paywall. You could have avoided it when speccing your new 5 Series, for example, and get it at a later date through that shop. But it was still available as an option or as part of a pack when ordering a new vehicle. You would have paid only once for the feature and have it for the lifetime of the car or until it broke and needed fixing.

Sadly, when the first reports surfaced, content creators quickly pointed out that the Bavarians were asking customers for more money to get heated seats on their posh Bimmers. That didn't sit well with many disappointed fans. It got so bad at one point that BMW even had to come forward with an official statement.

The whole thing took an even more frustrating turn for the Bavarians when Dacia, an European brand that makes affordable cars, poked fun at BMW by offering its customers a hot water bottle for free.

But it was all a big misunderstanding that nobody got right.

Clearing the air

BMW's idea was brilliant. Suppose you live in Arizona and finance a plug-in hybrid X5. A good part of the Grand Canyon State is known for rarely experiencing freezing temperatures. As such, you decide that heated seats are not needed.

The automaker takes care of your order but adds that functionality to your SUV anyway and locks it via software. This simplifies the production process, allows BMW to negotiate better contracts with suppliers, and can even lead to a lower carbon footprint because there's no need to store extra parts or have them shipped rapidly when the backlog of models with heated seats increases.

But such a move doesn't help just BMW and potentially the environment. It also offers you – the owner – a chance to make your vehicle more valuable to the secondary market.

Let's say someone from North Dakota would like to buy your X5. That person might want heated seats. You can activate the option beforehand by paying for it yourself and raising the price of your SUV. Or, you could tell that person they can do it themselves. There's no need to turn around a potential buyer.

But probably the most important thing about this whole heated seats saga is that BMW didn't force anyone to subscribe. The option to pay once and activate it for the vehicle's lifetime was also there. It really didn't make any sense to have so many people begrudged by this decision.

It originally cost $18 per month, $180 per year, $300 for three years, or $415 for unlimited access.

BMW didn't do it like Mercedes-Benz. The three-pointed star brand drew inspiration from Tesla's "Acceleration Boost" option and implemented a similar feature for its all-wheel-drive EV models. But instead of making a one-time payment or at least allowing that option to exist, the German marque transformed it into a yearly subscription. Fortunately, now the possibility to pay only once exists.

When writing, BMW still has the ConnectedDrive store and offers after-sales acquisitions for eligible models that are either subscriptions or one-time payments.

Too bad they have to give up on keeping the heated seats in their digital store because of a misunderstanding that no PR stunt could have corrected.

Finally, can you believe that barely anyone mentioned the heated steering wheel option that was also available as a subscription? It's still available, by the way. The Brits can buy it.