Of course, the introduction of subscription fees to use pre-installed features is absurd,

No, it really isn't. The cheapest way to build cars is to make them all the same. But the cost of producing a fully loaded BMW is prohibitive. Many buyers would say "I don't need a heated steering wheel, so why should I pay for it?" Liberty Mutual advertises insurance on the slogan "Only pay for what you need." Cable TV customers want to pick their own channels. The cable service could send you all of the channels for the same price as a few, but that price would be too high for those who want only the few. Paying for what you use makes all the sense in the world. If you lease a car, aren't you "subscribing" to every option you select?

In the US, the heated seats and steering wheel cost extra. They are add-ons. For all we know, the only difference bewteen a car with the option and one without it is that the switch to operate the device is missing in the latter. The heating coils may be present in every car. But you only get what you pay for.

Presumably, the cost of buying a BMW where the add-ons are "rented" is lower than the cost of buying the care where the add-ons are sold. It's only money, and in competitive business, competition drives price to cost. Whatever is cheapest for the producer will eventually be cheapest for the user.

I am not defending every move every company makes to create a captive customer. Maybe the case against John Deere is compelling. But BMW is the title character of the piece, and BMW's plan, which must compete with every other auto producer's plan, strikes me as quite clever.