Mercedes-Benz has announced it will offer owners of its flagship battery-powered EQS limo option of renting some of its optional extras on a subscription basis with a pilot scheme introduced in Germany.
The new subscription service is a drive by all manufacturers to create new revenue streams and, in the pure-electric EQS' case, will see owners charged an additional €489 (£420) a year for added extras like its enhanced rear-wheel steering.As standard, all EQS come with an agility-boosting rear-wheel steering axle, but with the enhanced rear-steer features the back wheels can pivot up to 10-degrees – more than twice as far as the standard 4.5-degree set-up.new cars news https://www.yesauto.co.uk/buy/new-cars
This makes a dramatic difference to the big saloon's nimbleness in the city, slashing its turning circle to just 10.9-metres – 2.0-metres less than standard.Better still, turning the wheels in the opposite direction at speeds of less than 37mph makes parking in urban areas a cinch, especially with the semi-autonomous Active Parking Assist tech.Above 37mph the same system then turns the rears in the same way as the fronts, providing more precise and reactive handling.
Cleverly, both the standard and enhanced rear steer both use the same hardware and it's the extra software German owners will pay for.Perhaps more surprising, pay extra for the enhanced steering and you don't even have to visit your local dealer as Mercedes will update your car's software using an over-the-air update.
Once downloaded, the new 10-degree steerable rear wheels can be used just two minutes after turning the car off and on again.In Germany, if you subscribe to have the enhanced rear steering for three years Mercedes will lower the cost to €1169 (£1000).The more sophisticated steering system can only be ordered if you already have the more advanced parking packaged fitted that gets a 360-degree camera.
As we've mentioned, it's not just Benz considering a move to a subscription model when it comes to options.Volkswagen is reportedly considering offering its next-gen hands-free autonomous cruise control on a pay-per-use that could see customers pay as much as €7 (£6) per hour to use.
Last year Tesla was the subject of investigations by US consumer organisations after owners reported optional extras like Ludicrous Mode and Enhanced Autopilot had been removed post-sale because the second owner hadn’t paid for them.