BMW Starts Nickel-and-Diming Car Buyers. Will Other Automakers Follow?
When you buy a luxury car, you expect that, in addition to high performance, you're paying up for amenities that are not available in more basic models. The fit and trim are usually better, and you often get new features first before they work their way down to mainstream models, like automatic parallel parking.
German automaker BMW (OTC: BAMXF)(OTC: BMWYY), however, views the premium nature of these perks a little differently. The luxury car company has begun charging buyers subscription fees to access features that are built into every vehicle they produce.
In a global economy beset by rampant inflation, high gas prices, and the possibility of a recession on the horizon, other automakers may see this as a way to generate incremental streams of revenue to help offset sagging car sales. But they would do so at their own peril.
Source Fool.com
