Apparently, Subaru charges customers a monthly fee to enable the remote-start function on their cars. That is amazing – your car doesn’t need to be warmed up, and if you skip the fee you won’t be wasting energy and emitting extra emissions just because the car is a little chilly in the morning!
But then you read about Ford and their plans with the security company ADT to add cameras to vehicles. Their promo video of the system alerting a contractor that someone was about to steal a few tools out of his F-150 was eye-opening. What pick-up driver wouldn’t want to pay for this type of system monthly, especially if their truck bed was always filled? Seems like a no-brainer.
Car companies have some ambitious goals in this area. GM says it will generate $20-25 billion dollars a year by the end of this decade with in-car software. Stellantis (the new Chrysler) says it will make $20 billion by 2030. They earned $400 million on in-car features last year.
We’ll see how this goes; after all, you probably won’t feel great about shelling out a monthly fee when you forked over tens of thousands for a new car. But if the offerings are targeted and unique and add value, then maybe the OEMs predictions are on target. I wouldn’t pay 2 cents for remote start, but if I carried valuables in my vehicle I’d definitely see the value in a visual security system.
