The services, called Functions on Demand, are booked through a digital platform and activated or deactivated as an app. After the wonders of Holoride, Audi takes another step forward.
Previously, customers had to buy optional equipment when ordering a car. From today with Audi's Functions on Demand there is an additional possibility. To flexibly activate options in the lighting, driver assistance and infotainment areas, as would be done for any subscription service.
In other words, the options are already present in the vehicle, but are activated (and deactivated) on request.
How optional on request work
Booking and payment are made through the app or the Web portal myAudi. After the purchase or remote renewal, the chosen function is activated automatically. Once the booking process is complete, Audi's IT backend sends a signed data packet to the car via the mobile phone network. The function will be available the next time the car is started.
You can also request a one-month free trial, to test the feature and see if it's right for us.
Functions on Demand are initially available for the fully electric e-tron models and for the A4, A5, A6, A7, Q5, Q7 and Q8 models. Audi announces that further series and functions will follow.
Functions on demand: what can be activated?
The bookable functions depend on the vehicle model and the market. With the Audi e-tron and e-tron Sportback, for example, customers can upgrade the lighting package. One click and the LED headlights are upgraded, obtaining LED matrix headlights with automatic high beams. Optional functions can also be activated in the infotainment package: the MMI navigation plus and the Audi smartphone interface are activated and deactivated on demand.
If you resell the car, the activated functions naturally pass to the new owner until they expire. The new owner can in turn activate other Functions on Demand.
Another step towards the transformation of the car from product to service. In the future, such car sharing systems will make it possible to have a vehicle with the most disparate functions.
In the morning it can be a docile displacement at the service of a student who goes to university, in the afternoon it will have 4-wheel drive for a user who uses it for a trip, and so on. Like pay TV, you only pay for what you need, and when you need it.
