Volkswagen Autopilot

2021: Autopilot feature in Volkswagen machines will be paid

In May 2021, Volkswagen announced that the autopilot function in the company's cars would be offered for a fee. Drivers will be able to activate and deactivate it at any time.

The head of Volkswagen sales and marketing, Klaus Zellmer, in an interview with the British publication TopGear explained that the inclusion of the function is optional for both consumers and the company.

Autopilot feature in Volkswagen machines will be offered for a fee

The German auto giant considered that from the point of view of production costs it is much more profitable to initially equip cars with all possible options and then give customers access to them for an additional fee than to make each car to order. This is also more profitable for the client, since he does not need to immediately decide what options he will need throughout the ownership of the machine: he can get access to any option at least the day after the purchase, at least five years later.

According to preliminary estimates, all equipment for autopilot of the fourth level according to the SAE classification (that is, an advanced system that can do without the help of the driver in all road situations) will cost a five-digit amount in euros (from €10 000). With this in mind, Volkswagen decided that they would be able to make a profit if they provided access to it for €7 per hour.

The idea of ​ ​ selling functions in cars by subscription is not new. So, in Tesla Model 3 electric vehicles for an additional $2 thousand, you can increase the transmission power in order to reduce acceleration time by 0.5 seconds. In the same way, BMW offers to unlock adaptive cruise control, seat heating, DVR functionality and much more. True, there are craftsmen who are able to activate these functions without official payment - by making changes to firmware.^[1]

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