Volvo: Facelifts to make room for ‘brainlifts’

The concept of a mid- or late-life upgrade might be a thing of the past, with Volvo suggesting a software improvement would make for a more appealing proposition than a design change for consumers.

Talking to auto expert At a recent media event, Volvo’s commercial director and vice president of operations Bjorn Annwall said the game is changing when it comes to the value consumers place on changes inside their vehicles. .

“It will change a little bit. I think ‘intelligence upgrade’ will be more important than face upgrade. Mr. Annwall said.

“That will be more important. That said, we’re still human and you still have a different shirt now than you did three years ago…” he said.

He went on to suggest that Volvo would consider charging a subscription fee for certain software features, a practice that is becoming more common among brands like BMW and Mercedes-Benz.

Those subscriptions will only happen where these software features actually add value to the driver’s life, as opposed to charging for a feature that should be standard on a vehicle. luxury car.

“The model with cars will change. I think the consumer benefit will lie more in the software than in the hardware. And what is the monetization model of that?

“And our firm position is that you are not going to take our customers $1 for a small feature,” he said.

“I mean if you buy a premium car, you will be able to have great functions and the car will upgrade over time. If there’s something we should ask for an extra subscription fee, it has to be the step-change functionality,” he said.

“For example, a full advertisement [autonomous driving] functionality would be an example that I think customers will accept [subscriptions].”