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 some of its Volkswagen ID.3 electric hatchback variants.
Customers who order the mid-spec Pro Essential (£35,740) up to the ID.3 Pro S Match (£39,940) will get their hands on a car with 201bhp.
But there is more potency locked away within the powertrain that’s been electronically restricted by VW.
Owners are only able to access this by paying a monthly subscription fee of £16.50. Doing so unleashes the full power capacity of 228bhp.
To put the subscription cost into perspective, it’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 customers could argue that it’s an elaborate mis-selling tactic by not providing the full performance that’s already available in the car.
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 performance Volkswagen has put under lock and key.
The restriction on power also limits the maximum torque, reducing it to 265Nm from 310Nm.
However, Volkswagen says the restricted performance does not affect the claimed range.
This is 240 to 352 miles, depending on trim level.
The Daily Mail has contacted Volkswagen UK for comment but it has yet to formalise an official statement on the subscription-based performance upgrade.
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.
