BMW to drop CarPlay subscription fee?

BMW Australia CEO Vikram Pawah has avoided confirmation of a looming shake-up for advanced smartphone integration in BMW models sold locally.

In doing so, the BMW exec has fostered speculation that the prestige brand will shortly make Apple CarPlay free of charge – as is the case with many of BMW’s rivals and indeed most new cars available today.

The announcement may also concern the incorporation of Android Auto connectivity in BMW's 'Connected Package Professional' bundle for cars like the new (F40 generation) BMW 1 Series to be launched this week.

"I've always said this: We always listen to our customers; we always provide them what they want," Pawah told journalists during the presentation of the 1 Series.

"So what we've heard to now is that only 50 per cent of people actually use Apple... when you're developing software... integration, you should charge it only for people who are going to use it, not everybody.

"We'll talk about it again after a month, but as of now this one [the new 1 Series range] is being launched with one-year [free] subscription."

At present, CarPlay is available at no cost for the first 12 months of BMW ownership. After the first 12 months, BMW charges the owner a subscription fee of $479 for three years – something its rivals don't do.

Pawah was drawn into the discussion with journalists during a 'walk-around' preview of the BMW 118i. The presenter, 1 Series Product Manager Prabs Datar, revealed that BMW would shortly make an announcement concerning CarPlay.

"We will have some more information for you in about a month's time... so stay tuned..." Datar said, when asked about CarPlay.

The BMW exec admitted he was not in a position to offer further information when asked directly whether BMW intended to offer CarPlay for free, as its rivals do.