A Horse for a Dollar: Volkswagen Launches Additional Power Subscription in Britain

Volkswagen has launched an unusual offer for the brand in the UK: for a monthly subscription, the user can get an additional 27 hp to the power of ID.3 Pro and ID.3 Pro S cars. From the factory, electric vehicles come with a power of 228 hp, but the buyer gets to use only a version with 201 hp, while the rest is offered to be unlocked for £16.5 (approximately $22) per month.

Paid removal of restrictions from functions already built into the car is not only used by Volkswagen. For example, Audi offered to additionally pay for the Webasto pre-heater, and BMW introduced a subscription for heated seats and remote start. From the manufacturer's point of view, it is easier to put one configuration on the assembly line and programmatically disable functions in it than to assemble cars for different user tastes. How close this approach to the implementation of cars will be to the user will be shown by time, because in Britain they also know about "chip tuning", which, although it may lead to loss of warranty, and in special cases to a lawsuit, removes all software restrictions from the car.

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