Customers will be asked to pay extra for features including sat-nav, automatic headlights and adaptive cruise control
Skoda will make some functions available post-purchase through subscriptions or one-off fees
The new Skoda Kodiaq will be shipped next year without sat-nav and instead ask customers to pay to download it as Skoda explores offering more “on-demand features”.
The second-generation SUV runs the new version of Volkswagen Group’s infotainment system, called MIB4, and will be permanently connected to the internet, allowing the Czech brand to expand its Skoda Connect service.
“We’re trying to explore functions on demand and give customers the chance to order the features online,” its head of sales and marketing, Martin Jahn, told Autocar at the launch of the Kodiaq in Berlin last week.
As well as downloadable sat-nav, Skoda will sell adaptive cruise control and automatic headlight dipping from the infotainment screen.
Skoda hasn’t decided whether to charge monthly or with a fixed fee. “Both are possible,” Jahn said.
Car makers are increasingly exploring the idea of offering software and even hardware features that customers can choose after the car has been sold.
They argue that this means customers don’t have to pay for something they don’t need – for example, native sat-nav when most drivers get guidance from Google Maps or Apple Maps mirrored from their smartphone.
However, the brands are wary of backlash. For example, BMW backed down on its decision to charge for access to heated seats already fitted to their car when customers reacted angrily.
Skoda first experimented with downloadable features on the Octavia, which came with the Volkswagen Group’s MIB3 infotainment system, as used on the Volkswagen ID 3.
Owners could download the auto-dip function for headlights, as well as add more colours to the ambient interior lights if the car came fitted with them for a one-off price.
Jahn admitted that it’s a niche area of business for Skoda. “There is interest, but it’s nothing life-changing. It’s something we’re testing,” he said. “For me, the reason why people buy a car is how it feels, how it drives and how much luggage it holds, but you have to explore this.”
Owners of electric cars are more likely to download features than those of ICE vehicles, he said. Skoda could have dropped sat-nav entirely but doesn’t want to yield the job of route guidance completely to Apple and Google.
“Some people will never use [native sat-nav], but we don’t want to give up this space,” Jahn said.
