Upgrade Mercedes Electric Vehicle

Mercedes-Benz electric vehicle owners residing in North America now have the option to boost their car's power and speed with ease. The company is offering power upgrades of 60 horsepower for $60 a month or 80 horsepower for $90 a month, depending on the model. The good news is that owners do not need to visit a Mercedes dealer or leave their driveway to receive the upgrade, as it is accessible through an over-the-air software patch. The added power is expected to shave nearly one second off the car's zero-to-60 acceleration time.

Customers have the flexibility to bypass the monthly subscription by choosing an annual subscription or a one-time flat fee. For example, an all-wheel-drive Mercedes-Benz EQE 350 sedan's power can be permanently increased from 288 to 348 horsepower for $1,950.

The practice of offering over-the-air upgrades is becoming more common among car manufacturers. Tesla has provided additional driving assistance features and increased range through software downloads. In certain markets, BMW has even offered heated seats as a downloadable add-on.

Many automakers are touting the potential of recurring revenue from subscription features. General Motors CEO Mary Barra hopes for GM to generate $20 billion to $25 billion annually from subscriptions by 2030. Stellantis has also disclosed its plan to generate billions of dollars from subscriptions. Mercedes executives have previously indicated that the German automaker expects to make over $1 billion annually from software subscriptions.

Mercedes electric car owners can access power-unleashing software upgrades through the Mercedes Me online store installed in the vehicles. The power upgrade subscription is presently only available in the US, as laws in other countries forbid changes to the car's powertrain after it has been purchased. Mercedes has confirmed that the upgrades will not impact the distance that the vehicles can travel on a single charge under normal driving conditions.



According to Markus Rossmann, manager for connected car and digital sales at Mercedes-Benz USA, subscription upgrades like this will not allow entry- or mid-level model owners to match the power levels of higher-priced upper-level models. Therefore, owners of a 516-horsepower Mercedes EQS 580 should not be concerned about a neighbor's EQS 450 going faster.

Mercedes already offers several features on a subscription basis, including navigation, remote start, theft and damage notification, and a "valet model" that temporarily reduces peak horsepower and restricts access to private data screens. These features are included in a separate package that can be purchased on an annual or monthly basis.

Mercedes claims that the availability of downloadable upgrades and features enables customers to customize their vehicles continually according to their evolving needs and preferences.

For example, a customer may want to try out the extra 60 horsepower for a month or two to determine if there is a significant improvement. They can cancel the subscription if they believe that reaching highway speeds in 6 seconds, instead of 5.1 seconds, is satisfactory.