Hyundai May Introduce Subscriptions For In-Car Features

Hyundai Connected Mobility, a new venture announced last month, has revealed that one of its initiatives is the introduction of in-car subscriptions. This new division will integrate and push the software-defined vehicle further.

It will offer expanded options for Hyundai customers in Europe and include the ability to add features to existing models like the Ioniq 5 and newer models like the upcoming Ioniq 7. Hyundai says the ultimate goal is to offer a “range of digital in-car and in-app services as well as new mobility services throughout the entire vehicle lifecycle.”

Enhancing The Customer Experience

Hyundai Connected Mobility is a broad division focusing on subscriptions of all kinds, including car subscriptions, Bluelink services, vehicle software, over-the-air updates, and digital services, such as features-on-demand and vehicle-to-everything. “For years we worried about how we were going to sell more cars,” said Marcus Welz, CEO, Hyundai Connected Mobility. “Today we worry about ‘what if all we do is sell cars?'”

This is why the company is looking for new ways to connect to the consumer once they’ve already sold them a vehicle. This has become a popular sentiment in the industry in recent years with the introduction of more connectivity and the expectation for more services.

The system will offer three levels: Lite, Plus, and Pro. The free Lite version will offer navigation and basic online services, while the Plus package adds a suite of remote services for €2.99 ($3.21) a month. The Pro at €9.99 ($10.74) a month adds advanced services like in-car payments to Hyundai partners. There was no word on whether any safety features would be locked behind a paywall.

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While the idea of in-car subscriptions induces terrifying flashbacks of heated-seat and climate-control subscriptions, Hyundai isn’t planning on hiding existing features behind paywalls. Rather, it sees it as an opportunity to introduce new features. “What you have often seen in the industry is an old use case, for example, heated seats,” Welz said.

“This was brought to the customer using new technology such as software updates. However, I think the benefit of feature-on-demand is exactly the opposite: to bring new features into older cars.” Hyundai has yet to announce exactly what kinds of new features could be available.