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Unfortunately for us old timers, this is the business model of the future. Actually it's already here and yes it is all about making more money for the company BUT the customer can benefit too in certain ways.
For example, it'll cost BMW less money to just produce all BMW's with the Drivers Assistance Package hardware installed as they won't need to vary their production lines as much and they can streamline their products. However, as a customer/subscriber we either stand to lose more money in the long run or save more money in the long run. If we choose to subscribe and then pay as we go, over the long run (years and years) it will have cost us more money to use the features rather than if we just paid for it upfront when we bought or leased the car, BUT a subscription model is advantages in some ways as it allows the customer to turn on or off a service whenever we want, which could potentially save us money in the long run. My Netflix is a perfect example. There have come times in my life where I just don't have time to watch Netflix so I cancel the service (thus saving me money) and then when I do have time again, I can reactivate my service again and continue to pay for what I use when I want to. We could potentially do the same for car features.
With cars becoming more like rolling computer technology, software activation/deactivation of car features via cellular wireless link has become so much more easier. Things will change a lot when the 5G network gets up and running too. This is just the beginning. With 5G technology, the possibilities are almost limitless. Just look back to when Tesla unlocked increased range on all Tesla cars via a wireless connection in order to allow Tesla vehicle owners to escape a hurricane headed for Texas. This is the kind of connectivity car manufacturers want and will get as they can now just build it into the cars architecture right from the beginning.
Subscription services for car features is coming, and we better get used to it.
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