European-market cars are a great way to see what some of America’s favorite luxury brands have in store for the New Continent, but the Euro updates don’t always make their way here. One we’re hoping skips North America is Audi’s new subscription scheme, recently introduced with the new A3 in Europe. We’ll see the new car in 2025, but let’s keep our fingers crossed this change stays out of North America.
Audi is charging buyers subscription fees to access features like adaptive cruise control, Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, automatic high beams, and, bafflingly, dual-zone climate controls. This is all running on carryover electronics from 2023, which include a 12.3-inch digital gauge cluster and a 10.1-inch touchscreen.
Paying the fee opens access to Audi’s app store, which is where users can download CarPlay and other features. Though we don’t know how much Audi plans to charge, the automaker offers three- and six-month options, as well as one- and three-year subscriptions. Owners can also buy the features outright.
The Euro A3 Sportback, which we likely won’t get, starts at around $39,000 at today’s conversion rates. The sedan is almost $900 more, while the crossover-like A3 Allstreet, also probably not destined for our shores, starts at around $41,000.
Audi must think its buyers will react differently from BMW’s. Its customers, the media, and people who’d never even seen a car before all became irate after learning that they’d be charged extra for similar features, causing the automaker to walk back its plans to charge extra. European car buyers might be more polite than Americans, but it’s hard to imagine anyone being excited about not fully owning the car they’ve already paid for.
[Image: Audi]
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