Porsche advertised the all-electric Taycan as being capable of OTA software updates. It was only after more than a year of being on the streets that the first update arrived, and unlike with Tesla, owners had to visit a Porsche Centre to receive the new features.
Now the automaker is saying they are going to limit the number of software updates because they don’t want it to be a like a smartphone. The comments were made by the Taycan’s Director Complete Vehicle Product Line, Robert Meier (via Autocar).
“We don’t plan to really go with many, many updates like on a smartphone. It’s not a smartphone: it’s a car that you have to drive safely. In my eyes, we won’t see these [updates] as frequently as you have it on a phone.”
The automaker will instead utilize OTA software updates not to add new features, but to make owners pay for features that were available on the car from the factory. Called Functions on Demand (FoD), owners can either purchase or take a monthly subscription on features like Power Steering Plus, Active Lane Keep Assist and Porsche InnoDrive.
All new features will be added in the traditional model-year and midlife facelifts.
This is exactly why it took over a year for the first update to arrive on the Taycan. The intial model did not have any features to unlock, and the features currently available in FoD were only added in the 2021 model year refresh.
Tesla pioneered over-the-air (OTA) software updates in vehicles. In 2020 the automaker pushed out a total of 151 updates, releasing a number of new convenience features like a glovebox PIN, bluetooth priority access, activating the charge port heater, and even improving the efficiency to get more range.
