On Wednesday, February 1st and Thursday, February 2nd, Dacia gave away free hot water bottles . For now, the idea is only available in the UK, but it could be so successful that it's replicated elsewhere. The goal of this unusual marketing ploy is to make people reconsider the decision by some car manufacturers to charge a premium for certain optional extras, such as heated seats.
That's why the hot water bottles have been named " Heated Seat Saviours . " There are 75 bags available and they will be distributed at Dacia dealerships in Brent Cross, London, Trinity Way, Manchester, and Fendrod Way, Swansea.
Dacia's different approach
"Our Heated Seat Saviours are a bit of fun, but they highlight the direction the industry as a whole is taking when it comes to access to subscription features." says Luke Broad, Director of Dacia brand for the UK.
"Asking someone to pay extra to activate a factory-fitted piece of equipment is certainly not Dacia. We we believe in simplicity, offering our customers technology that makes driving more convenient and comfortable with features included in the initial price of the car".
In Italy, there are still few brands that activate optional features remotely. From the BMW website, each owner can configure their car according to their needs, choosing which optional features to activate and for how long. Among these, for example , for a duration of 1 month : speed control warning (9 euros), heated front seats and steering wheel (25 and 19 euros respectively), BMW Drive Recorder (15 euros), High Beam Assistant (9 euros) and others.
Tesla is another brand that offers a monthly subscription package (priced at €9,99). While the standard package includes navigation , the Premium Connectivity package adds real-time traffic display, Sentry Mode (which displays live webcams), and satellite-view maps.
