If you thought paying a monthly subscription to the likes of Netflix, Amazon Prime Video and YouTube to avoid adverts was bad, Volkswagen is now charging a recurring fee to unlock the full power of customers’ electric cars.
The German automotive giant has added a monthly subscription to release the full performance from its cheapest Volkswagen ID.3 electric hatchback variants.
Customers who order the entry-specification ID.3 Pure (£30,860) or ID.3 Pure Match (£32,220) – might believe they are getting their hands on an EV with 170kW (168bhp) of power.
And rightfully so because this is the output listed on the website.
However, the small print states that models quoted to produce 170kW will instead be electronically limited to 150kW (148bhp) unless the owner pays a monthly subscription fee of £16.50.
To put this into perspective, that’s almost six times the ad-free upgrade for Amazon Prime Video and three times that to watch Netflix without adverts.
Volkswagen is calling this performance paywall an ‘optional power upgrade’. Though outraged customers could argue that it’s part of an elaborate mis-selling tactic, given that the 170kW full amount is available from the electric powertrain.
It could also become a major insurance headache, with drivers at the wheel of vehicles with less power than officially claimed.
The small print states: ‘Important information for new ID.3 orders: Engine power is 150kW as standard, 170kW if you activate the optional power upgrade for a fee.’
‘Choice of one-month free trial or subscription (one month, one year or outright purchase for lifetime of car.
‘See your In-car Shop or the Volkswagen Connect Shop for up to date pricing.
‘Subscriptions auto-renew at the end of their term.
‘Paid subscription for one month term starts automatically (after the free trial) unless cancelled.’
According to Auto Express, which uncovered this paywall on electric power, customers must stump-up a whopping £649 to permanently unlock the full 20kW of performance Volkswagen has limited.
The restriction on power also limits the maximum torque, dropping it from 265Nm to 310Nm.
With less pulling power and outright performance, the ID.3 is also not likely to achieve the quoted acceleration from 0 to 62mph in 8.2 seconds.
However, Volkswagen says the restricted performance does not affect the claimed range 240 miles.
Not only is the paywall a sneaky tactic to make drivers cough up even more money for the electric cars but it will also be an administrative headache for owners.
This is because those who refuse to pay the subscription will need to notify their insurer that their ID.3 produces less power than the 170kW quoted by the car maker.
The Daily Mail has contacted Volkswagen UK for comment and to understand if any other EV models are subject to paywalled power.
Car makers cheekily charging extra for existing features
Volkswagen isn’t the first car firm to ask its customers to pay a monthly subscription to access features and performance also equipped in their cars.
BMW in 2022 took a lot of heat when it was revealed that it was charging owners of its motors a monthly fee of £15 to access the heated seats in their expensive motors.
It also wanted £10 a month to unlock the heated steering wheel, a tenner to activate high-beam assist, and £35 to turn on the adaptive cruise control system.
In the same year, we revealed that Porsche was also charging monthly subscription charges to unlock driver assistance systems in some of its high-performance models.
A year later, Audi Audi’s boss said the company would ramp up availability of ‘function on demand’ features that would need to be unlocked with a monthly payment.
Polestar owners too can pay extra for a performance pack that provides more power through software upgrades.
However, this is different to the Volkswagen subscription because it is not unlocking power that’s already there as standard.
