Mercedes is not the only automaker in the modern market that limits the functionality of its cars. Access to the "capabilities" of your MB, you can reach for a fee! The upcoming "Acceleration Increase update" will make it possible to use a more productive engine mode, but it can only be activated on a paid subscription basis.

$1200 a year will open access to the Dynamic driving mode. As we understand it, Dynamic increases engine power by 20-24%, increases torque and reduces acceleration time to 60 mph (96.6 km/h) by 0.8-0.9 seconds. The subscription does not require any physical updates for the equipment, but only programmatically unlocks a more productive engine operation mode. Thus, Mercedes reduced the performance for subsequent sale as an additional option. Tricky! We remind you that this offer is available to owners of Mercedes-EQ EQE and Mercedes-EQ EQS electric vehicles.

Many automakers have started looking for alternative ways to generate revenue due to falling sales in recent years. One of the ways to achieve a surplus is regular software and feature updates in the form of subscriptions. In this simple way, they receive a continuous stream of income for a long time after the sale of the car.

This approach has a right to life for certain software offerings, such as premium navigation features or remote vehicle monitoring. But the example discussed above provides that the automaker initially installed more productive hardware resources on the car and sold the finished car, specifically cutting down its capabilities.

It is possible to reveal the initially laid-down potential only on the terms of a considerable annual subscription. Note that earlier BMW took the same step, "allowing" buyers of their cars to use heated seats for $18 per month. BMW also tried to charge customers for access to Apple CarPlay and Android Auto – $80 per year.