A new kitchen appliance often has many special formats. But so that buyers can use these with V-Zug devices, they are asked to pay again.
The Swiss household appliance manufacturer V-Zug sells, among other things, high-priced dishwashers. But a one-off payment isn’t enough for the latest models – at least if the buyer also wants to use the device’s special functions.
If you want to use the “Intensive Plus” program, you have to take out an annual subscription of twelve francs (around 13 euros). The programs for beer glasses and dishwasher-safe toys are also hidden behind the payment barrier.
At the request of the Swiss television station SRF, V-Zug confirmed the business model. Accordingly, customers must take out a subscription for the latest generation of dishwashers, washing machines and dryers in order to use the full range of functions.
The company itself says that the devices could be personalized in this way. “We recently introduced this model and the V-Upgrade offers are already enjoying great popularity,” says V-Zug. Other manufacturers of kitchen appliances do not yet offer such models; at Miele, for example, additional functions can be activated free of charge via an app.
In other industries, however, payment models for additional functions are already much more common, for example in the automotive sector. At Tesla, customers can, among other things, take out a subscription for live traffic data, music and streaming, which can then be accessed via the on-board computer. BMW caused a stir in the media around two years ago when the company announced a subscription for the use of seat heating in new models. But there were strong headwinds and the company abandoned the project last year.