Mercedes-Benz has announced that it is to offer a subscription service to unlock improved acceleration in its electric vehicles.
The company has said that its users in the US will be able to pay $1200 per year to enable some electric vehicles to accelerate from 0-60mph a second faster.
The feature has not yet been released. The feature will deactivate after a year if users decline to pay the recurring fee.
Mercedes has said that it does not currently plan to offer this feature in the UK.
Back in 2019, Tesla had already been offering an “Acceleration Boost” feature that improves Model 3 acceleration by half-a second, for a fee of $2000.
Automakers such as Tesla and Mercedes-Benz are relying on after-sales digital features to become a significant source of income.
BMW has recently said that it expects 5 billion euros in revenue from these features this decade. Stellantis is also aiming for 20 billion euros in extra income from software-driven features.
Mercedes’ website says the feature is “coming soon” but lists no date for its release.
