Volkswagen is considering providing a paid subscription service for its future autonomous driving technology, which can be purchased by car owners on demand.
Volkswagen’s marketing and sales director Klaus Zellmer (Klaus Zellmer) said in an interview with Top Gear on Wednesday that future drivers will not need to pay in advance for autonomous driving technology, because this will lead to new cars.
The price is too high, and the options for today’s autonomous driving technology are generally in the tens of thousands of dollars. Zellmer said that instead of passing this cost on to new car buyers, it might make more sense to simply unlock this feature when the driver needs it.
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Assuming you are going on a long journey, you can pay Volkswagen to unlock the safe autonomous driving function during this time. Zellmer said that early calculations show that an hourly rate of 7 euros (about 54 yuan) may help automakers make profits and provide technology for drivers.
The question is, will drivers find it a bit expensive, especially when they are already paying tolls? And many drivers don’t always drive a full hour on the highway. If you have to unlock this function every time you are about to drive for about 30 minutes, it will be quite troublesome.
It’s hard to say that the future is set in stone, but this subscription-centric way of thinking is increasingly appearing in the strategies of automakers. For example, Tesla has previously stated that it is considering providing users with automated assisted driving subscription services.
