Mercedes has dropped the price for a year of increased horsepower and added monthly and lifetime payment options for owners of its electric cars.
If almost none of that sentence made any sense, let’s explain.
Horsepower Downloads?
Many of today’s electric vehicles (EVs) are capable of making more horsepower than they do day-to-day. Manufacturers use the same electric motors in many cars and use software to limit how much power they put out.
That means manufacturers can add horsepower to an EV by changing its programming.
Subscriptions to Parts of Your Car?
Many cars for sale in America in 2023 have constant connections to the internet. They’re also full of systems networked to one another. Even headlights can be small computers (see the recent discovery that thieves can steal some cars by hacking into their headlight wires).
That is key to many automakers’ long-term plans. The future of car shopping will be very different than it is today.
Traditionally, car shoppers configure their new car when they buy it — purchasing some features and declining others. Automakers build cars with various packages of features to simplify production. That often means that if you want the premium stereo, you’re paying for heated seats, too.
But highly networked cars give manufacturers a different option. In the near future, they’ll be able to simply build every car with every feature. Depending on what owners pay for, they can switch those features on and off.
Today, for instance, an automaker may build some cars with 6-speaker sound systems and some with premium 12-speaker units. Soon, they could save money by building just one 12-speaker audio system. But they’ll charge different fees based on whether you activate six or 12 speakers.
They could charge only at the time of purchase. But some expect to charge subscription fees instead.
That fee might be monthly. BMW has experimented with monthly payments for heated seats in some markets.
It could be a fee per use — Volkswagen executives have mused about releasing self-driving software that charges ticket prices based on where you want it to take you.
The Mercedes Horsepower Rental Program
Combine those two ideas, and you get where Mercedes is today. Last year, the company offered owners of its electric vehicles the chance to pay an annual fee for more horsepower.
We don’t know how many takers Mercedes found for its rent-a-speed-boost plan. But it may not have been enough.
This week, the company lowered the annual subscription price. It also added both monthly and lifetime options.
Mercedes Horsepower Boost Prices:
When the plan launched in November, owners could pay $1,200 for a one-year boost of about 60 or 80 horsepower, depending on the model. Today, the pricing structure is more complex.
| Model | Output Increase | Acceleration Change (0-60 mph) |
Pricing |
| EQE 350 4MATIC Sedan | From 288 hp to 348 hp (+60 hp) | From 6.0 seconds to 5.1 seconds | Monthly: $60/month Yearly: $600/year Lifetime of Vehicle: $1,950 |
| EQE 350 4MATIC SUV | From 288 hp to 348 hp (+60 hp) | From 6.2 seconds to 5.2 seconds | Monthly: $60/month Yearly: $600/year Lifetime of Vehicle: $1,950 |
| EQS 450 4MATIC Sedan | From 355 hp to 435 hp (+80 hp) | From 5.3 seconds to 4.5 seconds | Monthly: $90/month Yearly: $900/year Lifetime of Vehicle: $2,950 |
| EQS 450 4MATIC SUV | From 355 hp to 435 hp (+80 hp) | From 5.8 seconds to 4.9 seconds | Monthly: $90/month Yearly: $900/year Lifetime of Vehicle: $2,950 |
