- Volkswagen offers power upgrades for ID.3 and ID.4 electric cars via subscription in the UK
- Power upgrade costs 16.50 pounds monthly, 165 pounds annually, or 649 pounds for lifetime access
- Subscription lets customers choose sportier driving without higher initial vehicle price
Microtransactions in video games to open certain characters and powers have irked gamers for years. Now, people driving cars are being subjected to a similar 'microtransaction hell', with Volkswagen introducing a mechanism which essentially caps a vehicle's horsepower until extra money is paid.
According to a report in the BBC, the German carmaker has introduced a subscription for customers wanting to increase the power of some of its electric cars, at least in the UK. The affected models are the Volkswagen ID.3 and ID.4, which start at 201 horsepower with an option to increase it to 228 horsepower with the subscription.
The 'optional power upgrade' will cost Rs 1,945 (16.50 pounds) per month or Rs 19,450 (165 pounds) annually, or people can simply pay Rs 76,506 (649 pounds) for a lifetime subscription.
"Historically many petrol and diesel vehicles have been offered with engines of the same size, but with the possibility of choosing one with more potency," said a Volkswagen spokesperson, adding that the company was "offering customers choice" with the subscription feature.
The company said the power upgrades would allow customers to opt for a "sportier" driving experience, rather than committing from the outset with a higher initial purchase price".
Social media users, however, were not impressed by the pricing tiers and expressed their disappointment at another company going down the cash-grab route.
"When there's a will, there's a way. It'll be like ECU tuning except now you gotta have the skills of an iPhone jailbreaker," said one user while another added:"The problem is not the ability to do something like this. The problem is the artificial gatekeeping of the features for sh*t value."
A third commented: "Even though a buyer of this car can certainly afford the $649 lifetime unlock, if I were buying this car, I would honestly not get the upgrade and figure out how to break the lock myself out of spite."
Also Read | 'Next Level Aura': Indian Army Officer's Cricket Game With Kashmir Locals Goes Viral
Previous instances
Volkswagen is not the only car company to have come up with such a scheme. Mercedes-Benz has a similar pay-to-avail model with its EQE and EQS EV models, called "Acceleration Increase", according to a report in Futurism.
Tesla, one of the biggest EV makers in the world, follows the same principle, albeit with a little difference. For example, customers driving the Model Y can shell out $2,000 up front for Acceleration Boost, with no subscription plan available.
BMW also demands its customers pay $18 per month to unlock their heated seats, and $12 per month for heated steering wheels.
