Shutterstock/KenishirotieMinus any aftermarket accessories, the vehicle you bought however long ago has the same features today as it did when it rolled off the assembly line. For all intents and purposes, everything about your car, from the powertrain to the infotainment system, is exactly the same as the day you drove it off the lot. And you have not had to pay extra for any of the features you use and enjoy most.But that is changing across the broader automotive industry, as features that were once included in the vehicle's price are becoming increasingly paywalled. This shift across the automotive industry is known as a software-defined vehicle, or SDV for short.An SDV is a car in which updatable software, rather than fixed hardware, determines what the vehicle can do. While SDV capability can unlock interesting, helpful, and even fun features inside the vehicle, it's ultimately an opportunity for automakers to build recurring revenue streams from their customer base.AdvertisementAdvertisementA 2026 industry report from IoT Analytics found that 45% of automakers and suppliers now rank the transition to SDVs as their top strategic priority, ahead of both electric vehicle development and advanced driver assistance systems, which you could take so far as to say autonomous cars.Why automakers love the subscription modelThe average car on the road is older than everUnder the traditional model, once a vehicle leaves the showroom with its new owner, an automaker's opportunity to make additional money from that sale is greatly reduced. While dealers have the opportunity to earn follow-up revenue through routine maintenance and service, it's not as easy for the OEM.At this point, automakers are essentially waiting for that same customer to come back for another vehicle, but that takes longer than manufacturers would like. According to recent S&P Global Mobility data, the average age of vehicles on U.S. roads has climbed to 12.8 years, the oldest ever recorded.Individually, passenger cars now average 14.5 years old, while light trucks average 11.9 years old. In other words, the typical American vehicle on the road today was built during the Obama administration.AdvertisementAdvertisementMeanwhile, vehicle manufacturers are still covering the fixed costs of building the cars they sell. Everything from factories and tooling to engineering, research and development, and marketing is covered by a single hardware transaction that occurs less and less often.With an SDV, however, automakers can build the hardware for a certain feature into the vehicle on the assembly line, then use software to switch it on or off later, whenever the customer decides to pay for it. Faster acceleration settings, an off-road-focused powertrain change, a driver-assist system, or something as common as heated seats. All of these items are already in the vehicle. All of them included in the price of the vehicle. Until now.If the average consumer will not buy another vehicle for nearly 13 years, waiting for the next sale is not a viable long-term business model for automakers. Recurring software revenue, whether monthly or yearly, enables an automaker to benefit financially throughout the entire ownership period. In effect, vehicle manufacturers will operate similarly to any other business that runs on a subscription model.Which features already require a subscriptionHands-free driving costs extra, no matter the brandGeneral Motors offers one of the clearest examples with Super Cruise, its hands-free highway driving system. Super Cruise takes over the steering, acceleration, and braking on compatible highways, relying on LiDAR map data, real-time GPS, cameras, and radar sensors to keep the vehicle centered in its lane. The system now operates on more than 750,000 miles of compatible highways across the U.S. and Canada and is available on select Cadillac, Chevrolet, GMC, and Buick models.AdvertisementAdvertisementSuper Cruise comes free for three years on eligible vehicles, after which drivers must purchase a plan to keep it active. GM currently prices a standalone Super Cruise add-on at a mere $25 a month, but the feature has become a cash cow for the automaker. GM expects to surpass 850,000 paid Super Cruise subscriptions by the end of 2026, with revenue from the feature projected to reach almost $400 million for the year.Like GM, Ford has its version of a hands-free highway driving system. BlueCruise controls steering, braking, and acceleration on prequalified sections of divided highways called hands-free Blue Zones, which make up over 130,000 miles of North American roads, accounting for about 97% of controlled-access highways in the U.S. and Canada.BlueCruise is currently available on the Explorer, Expedition, F-150, and Mustang Mach-E. New vehicle subscriptions come with a free 90-day trial, after which owners can pay $495 a year or $2,495 for a seven-year subscription. A monthly plan is also available for $49.99.Mercedes-Benz sells an Acceleration Increase upgrade for its EQE and EQS electric models. The upgrade raises output by up to 80 horsepower and improves acceleration from zero to 60 miles per hour by as much as a full second, all through an over-the-air update rather than any new hardware. Mercedes prices the upgrade at $600 a year on the EQE and $900 a year on the EQS, with a one-time lifetime purchase also available.AdvertisementAdvertisementMeanwhile, Toyota offers two ways to start a vehicle remotely. One works via the Toyota app, allowing an owner to start the car from anywhere. The other is the standard key fob remote start, where pressing the lock button twice and holding it a third time fires up the engine from a short distance away.On 2018 through 2022 models, both methods require an active subscription, even though the fob method uses a short-range signal and needs no data connection of its own. The subscription costs $8 a month or $80 a year.Toyota's newer infotainment system, standard on most 2026 models, instead bundles Remote Connect into a package starting at $15 a month. On Toyota owner forums, the community consensus is largely negative toward the subscription model, with most advising against renewing anything other than Remote Connect, and only if you regularly need to start your car from a longer distance.Questions to ask before your next test driveWith more features tied to a subscription instead of a one-time purchase, it helps to ask a few clarifying questions the next time you are looking for a new vehicle. Ask which features come included outright versus those that require a subscription. For the latter, ask how long the trial lasts and how much it costs once it expires.AdvertisementAdvertisementAsk these tech questions along with all of the standard questions that are advisable to ask when searching for a new vehicle, including what the "out-the-door" price is, how long the factory warranty is, and if there are any additional rebates you may be eligible for.
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