BMW to drop fees for Apple CarPlay subscription

KUALA LUMPUR: The German multinational company has recently announced to drop the fees for Apple CarPlay subscription across all its markets, including Malaysia. In the month of July, the carmaker announced the fees for subscribing to Apple CarPlay features, which signified that the brand is charging its buyers for a feature that is being offered free of cost by other brands.

Finally, the company has removed all the earlier-announced fees, which means the buyers can enjoy Apple CarPlar absolutely free of cost in their BMW vehicle.

A BMW spokesperson stated in an email "BMW is always looking to satisfy our customers' needs, and this policy change is intended to provide them with a better ownership experience." In addition to that, the closure of the subscription fees was declared in markets like the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, as well as Malaysia.

BMW Malaysia has also stated that they will not charge any fees for local models that come equipped with Apple CarPlay. Earlier, the subscription fees charged for this feature in Malaysia was RM1,299. When the subscription was introduced, BMW Malaysia offered four levels to select from,

and the plans were accessible via the BMW ConnectedDrive Customer Portal. A one year plan was offered at RM513, while a three-year plan was priced for RM799 and for unlimited access, buyers had to pay RM1,899.

According to the carmaker, they did not gain any profit with this subscription fees, and they had to impose the fees due to a global directive from Apple. It was due to the complexity caused by wireless connectivity that added extra costs in the process of execution.

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