Subscriptions to car features are increasingly becoming one of the tools used by automakers to generate additional revenue. Now Mazda has also embarked on this curve.
Several Mazda owners have reported that they have received a notification that their free trial of Mazda Connected Services is about to expire. This means that in 60 days they will have to pay a monthly subscription of $10 to continue accessing features such as remote engine start.
Mazda offered its Connected Services as a free three-year trial for new car buyers starting in 2019. Previously, the company extended this trial period, but now it no longer plans to do so. Consequently, car owners are now offered to pay for some features. However, drivers are not ready to pay for them, especially for the remote start feature that was once built right into the key fobs.
Mazda says it will advertise Connected Services starting in 2019 as a free three-year trial that will require a subscription after the trial period ends. In addition to remote start, the package offers remote keyless entry, vehicle status information such as fuel level, service alerts, vehicle locator, automatic 911 call, and more.
It should be noted that usually such features are offered in some configurations or could be ordered as additional options. Now the automaker wants to provide them on a monthly subscription basis.
As a reminder, earlier BMW tried to force car owners to subscribe to the seat heating functionbut abandoned the idea due to poor customer acceptance. Subsequently, Toyota, Audi, and Mercedes, which had criticized BMW for subscriptions, also tried to charge people regularly for certain features.
Source: motor1