Driving Dystopia: German Automakers Keep Reimagining Vehicle ‘Ownership’
Excerpt:
...“In the future, our customers will buy, lease, share or rent cars just for a weekend, and we can use software to provide them with whatever they need over the air,” VW brand’s sales chief Klaus Zellmer said during an online presentation held on Tuesday. “The ID family has been designed for further development, with OTA updates to improve the software’s performance and tailor it to our customers’ needs.”
Other German automakers have pitched (or introduced) similar concepts over the last few years and it smacks of the terror that is the World Economic Forum’s “Great Reset” — a plan which envisions a near future were the general populace owns nothing and giant multinational corporations (and their heirs) effectively hold all the cards. It’s the kind of thing one might call you an unhinged conspiracy theorist for believing, until you head over to the WEC’s website to read a dozen or so articles explaining exactly how it’s to be implemented or notice that most Western governments seem to be pushing some variant of the “Build Back Better” campaign. The plot is often the same and hinges upon prioritizing stringent social controls, increased government spending, collaborating with large businesses/banks, and enhanced surveillance in exchange for some vague promises about public safety and environmental reform.
...Automotive News pulled several quotes from the automaker’s digitalization/mobility strategy, which it called an “Innovation Talk,” and managed to snag some truly unsettling lines. This included referencing an article from Germany’s Die Welt where Zellmer suggested VW could charge customers by the hour once autonomous features become more useful.
From AN:
“We assume a price of around seven euros per hour. So if you do not want to drive yourself for three hours you can pay 21 euros to get it done,” Zellmer told the paper.
VW has said the first over-the-air will be available to ID customers before the end of the summer.
Zellmer said he sees the potential for “triple-digit-millions” in sales through over-the-air upgrades.
At least it’s going to make Volkswagen a richer company. It would be awful to think customers would be getting gouged by having every desirable feature locked behind a paywall for nothing. Of course, it won’t just be VW enacting these policies. BMW and Mercedes signaled their interest in launching nearly identical business strategies, as have a few North American brands. German firms just happen to be leading the charge among Western automotive brands.
It’s a shame because over-the-air technology and automotive connectivity provide some genuine benefits to consumers. The industry just seems preoccupied with using them to dilute the customer’s sense of ownership and swipe people’s private data. While the right-to-repair movement has taken up these new practices with legislators, it’s been an uphill battle and they’ve been forced to combat several of the wealthiest industries (and their respective trade organizations) simultaneously.
I think I will just keep my 86 vanagon. It broke down again this weekend. Part is shipping. Cost me a little of my labor already and 36 bucks for the part that will fix my transmission linkage and a little bit more of my labor when the part comes in.
I also don’t have to pay yearly property car tax on it.
I think I will just keep my 86 vanagon. It broke down again this weekend. Part is shipping. Cost me a little of my labor already and 36 bucks for the part that will fix my transmission linkage and a little bit more of my labor when the part comes in.
I also don’t have to pay yearly property car tax on it.