BMW doubles down on divisive car subscription features – but admits its 'heated seats' furore was a mistake

• Charging for access to heated seats didn't go down well
• BMW admits it was a mistake but continues to explore subscription models
• More companies are turning towards micro-transactions to boost profits

BMW sparked controversy in 2022 when it floated the idea of a new ‘Functions on Demand’ program, which would charge owners to gain access to preinstalled hardware. In particular, the idea that owners would have to pay a monthly fee to access heated seats raised more than a few eyebrows.

The German marque was quick to clarify at the time that, should a customer specify heated seats, they would "remain fully operational for the life of the vehicle". But the company said that additional features, such as using existing camera hardware as a dash cam, would still be offered as a premium software subscription.

More recently, BMW head of product communications Alexandra Landers told drive ...