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      06-25-2019, 09:22 AM   #40
Soussef24
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Drives: Volvo XC60 D5 Momentum MY11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by mobilejo View Post
You got it! Manufacturers live off repeat business. Remember when people bought cars and kept them 10 years? That was terrible for business. Hence these constant new 'must have' latest features.

With regards to the ID7 hardware, albeit BMW have kept a consistent look, they are using new equipment. No doubt someone will come along with a retrofit kit like they have done for every previous version of iDrive, but only a handful of people will take it up because of the cost and work involved for what never feels like 'a total revolution'.

For now, ID6 works and works well. I'll look forward to ID7 in the LCI G30 when (hopefully) they have fixed all the bugs. Still not sure on the backwards rev counter though...
Even if you are right that this is the mainstream reasoning among car manufacturers' marketing departments and mainly the German ones. I do not agree this approach/strategy makes sense (anymore) and think it will quickly stop to be sustainable.

You cannot expect customers to switch cars because of a small operating system update at the HU level. Most of customers don't care and don't notice those changes when an LCI passes by. And for most of those customers who notice those changes, they are only frustrated that the manufacturer expects them to upgrade to the newer model and lose a great amount of money through devaluation...

Today, everybody is used to OTA software updates, and manufacturers like Tesla push the model to a great extent which is really to the benefit of the customers. With this approach, my opinion is that the brand would benefit much more from customer satisfaction and turn it into customer loyalty! Especially that, the value of moving from ID6 to ID7 isn't huge, but it's a nice have that customers would be sensitive to.

Moreover if you look at how BMW (and other traditional manufacturer) build their cars and options, it is a nightmare of logistic, part numbers, manufacturing processes, etc. Which makes the options far more expensive than what they are really worth... Look at the different levels (at least five if I recall) of Park Assist that BMW has, each with different hardware and control units, and mix that with the different aesthetic options (for instance side mirror cameras with glossy black plastic covers or mate plastic), then with different generations and year models, and it quickly turn into a nightmare that probably costs more than the option itself.

If you compare that to the fact that Tesla decided for their Model 3 to put additional battery capacity built-in, and activate it over the air, if the customer pays for the option, you understand how behind the curve traditional car makers really are!

Last edited by Soussef24; 06-25-2019 at 10:42 AM..
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