Mercedes-Benz will allow owners of certain cars to unlock more power after purchase…for an annual fee, of course.
In the United States, owners of electric sound EQA sedan and SUV and EQS liftbacks and SUVs can now pay US$1200 per year (~A$2000) to cut their 100 km/h sprint times by up to one second with software.
Mercedes-Benz Australia had “no announcement” to make on whether it will offer similar subscriptions locally. Currently it only offers the EQS Down Under liftback, although the EQE sedan and EQE/SQS SUV ranges are on track to arrive in 2023.
The power of the EQE 350 4MATIC increases from 215 kW to 260 kW, while the EQS 450 4MATIC gains 55 kW to pack 330 kW.
The so-called Accelerate Augmentation subscription is listed with the following explanation on the North American store:
“Fine-tuning the electric motors increases the maximum engine power of your Mercedes-EQ by 20 to 24 percent.”
“Torque is also increased, allowing your vehicle to accelerate noticeably faster and more powerfully.”
Mercedes-Benz isn’t the only brand wanting to switch to monthly or annual customer payments.
BMW will offer a monthly, annual or ongoing payment to activate heated seats on its X1 sDrive18i SUV in Australia, and has already charged owners an ongoing fee for Apple CarPlay.
Toyota also offers a subscription in Australia, but rather than hardware features, owners will pay to retain access to its connected services.