Volvo will steer clear of charging for just any software update

Journalists surround the new Volvo EX90, the company’s new electric SUV, during a launch event in Stockholm, Sweden, on Nov 9, 2022. The auto world has started to second-guess just how much money there is to be made from the rise of software within their hardware-intensive business. — AFP

BMW veered into a public-relations mess this year when it started charging car owners monthly subscription fees to warm their behinds. Volvo Car won’t be making similar moves.

“If you are to charge for software updates, it must be a step change in consumer benefit,” Volvo’s chief operating officer Björn Annwall said in an interview this month. “We will not ask people who have bought a car for 1mil kronor (RM447,629) to pay another 10 kronor (RM44) to get extra heat in the seat.”