Subscription services for vehicle features are increasingly becoming a source of additional revenue for automakers. Now, Mazda has joined this trend.
Several Mazda car owners have reported receiving notifications about the expiration of their free trial period for Mazda Connected Services. This means that after 60 days, they will have to pay a monthly fee of $10 to maintain access to features such as remote engine start.
Mazda had been offering its Connected Services as a complimentary three-year trial for new car buyers since 2019. While the company previously extended this trial period, it has decided not to do so anymore. Consequently, car owners are now required to pay for certain features. However, many drivers are unwilling to pay, particularly for the remote start feature, which was once integrated directly into the key fobs.
Mazda states that it has promoted Connected Services since 2019 as a free three-year trial that will require a subscription after the trial ends. In addition to remote start, the service package includes keyless remote access, vehicle status updates such as fuel level, maintenance alerts, vehicle location tracking, automatic 911 calls, and more.
It is important to note that these features are typically offered in specific vehicle trims or could be ordered as optional extras. Now, the automaker aims to provide them on a monthly subscription basis.
It is worth remembering that BMW previously attempted to impose a subscription fee for seat heating functions, but scrapped the idea due to negative customer feedback. Subsequently, Toyota, Audi, and Mercedes, who criticized BMW for using subscription models, also tried to charge customers regularly for certain features.
Source: motor1
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