EU Won't Allow Mercedes To Gouge Consumers With EV Performance Subscription But The US Will
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Mercedes raised some worried eyebrows with its recent announcement to offer additional power for its EVs via subscription. For electric EQE and EQS models, Mercedes will bump their horsepower if customers pay an additional $1,200 per year. However, that's going to remain a U.S. market service only for the time being, as Europe currently won't allow Mercedes to offer it, according to this report from Top Gear NL.
A spokesperson for Mercedes Netherlands told Top Gear NL that legal matters currently prevent Mercedes from offering a subscription-based power upgrade. However, the spokesperson declined to comment further, so it's currently unknown what sort of laws block such subscription-based services. Especially when there are other subscription services that are available in Europe, such as BMW's heated seat subscription. Automakers can also update a car's horsepower, via free over-the-air service updates, as both Polestar and Tesla do so in Europe. But that comes at no extra cost and is a one-time, permanent upgrade. So there seems to be some sort of legal issue with charging a yearly subscription for horsepower.