When you buy a car, you usually need to think about the features you want in it. This is why carmakers tend to offer cars in various pre-built configurations where users can pay more for a version that comes with additional features, and usually once you pick a model, it’s not so easy to upgrade/downgrade.
However, that’s something Volkswagen wants to change for its future EV codenamed Project Trinity. This is an electric car that the company plans on launching in 2026, where it will come with unlockable features on-demand. This means that if you need additional software-based features, you can choose to unlock it by paying a fee.
This also means that the car will probably be sold in one configuration and any additional software enhancements can be unlocked at a later date if you decide you want to take advantage of it. Volkswagen wouldn’t be the first to hide features behind a paywall as Tesla already has something similar where users can buy a car and then later pay a fee to unlock driver assist technology.
It is an interesting concept as software starts to become more prominently featured in cars. At the moment it is unclear what kind of features can be unlocked, but as Autoblog points out, an example would be how a Volkswagen car could be sold with FWD, but users can later pay a fee to unlock AWD.
Filed in . Read more about Electric Cars and Volkswagen. Source: autoblog