Mercedes-Benz locks faster acceleration behind a $1,200 paywall. The German manufacturer is the latest company to offer a subscription fee for features their vehicles were formerly capable of. The “Acceleration Increase” add-on simply allows drivers to access what their vehicles are already capable of, but after paying for it.

The annual $1,200 subscription fee improves performance by boosting the motors, increasing output by 20-24 percent and reducing the 0-60 mph acceleration by about 0.8 to 0.9 seconds when driving in Dynamic drive mode. The subscription fee simply unlocks the full capabilities of the vehicle, no physical hardware changes or upgrades. Guess this means that Mercedes intentionally limited the performance during production in order to sell it as an option later. Cut-throat business people definitely. However, the acceleration increase is available for the Mercedes-EQ EQE and Mercedes EQ-EQS electric car models.

Due to the recent general decline in car sales, car manufacturers are now heading towards selling software updates and features as subscriptions to generate a continuous revenue stream way after the car has left the showroom. This could make sense for specific software options say, premium navigation features or remote vehicle monitoring, Mercedes paywalling their vehicles is part of an emerging more loathsome trend that sees car brands restricting capabilities of the hardware that comes factory-equipped with the vehicle.