VW introduces ‘performance upgrade’ via subscription

The technical basis for the currently controversial subscription model at Volkswagen essentially goes back to the changes that VW introduced to the ID.3 in May 2025: The power output of the ID.3 Pro S (with the 77 kWh battery) increased to 170 kW at that time, while it remained at the previously known 150 kW in the ID.3 Pro (with 59 kWh in the underbody), but it is the same drive system, the APP310 with 310 Nm of torque. In some markets, the ID.3 Pro was also converted directly to 170 kW at the time.Now, in Germany and other markets where the ID.3 Pro was still offered with 150 kW, new and existing vehicles can be retrofitted with 170 kW peak power. However, this is not possible when ordering new vehicles directly, but only retrospectively via the VW Connect Store, and only for existing vehicles with software 3.2.1 or higher. Either a one-off fee of 629 euros or 18.90 euros per month will be charged. If the contract is cancelled for the subscription option, the output is then reduced back to 150 kW. With the one-off payment, the upgrade to 170 kW remains vehicle-bound, so the drive power will also stay when reselling.The list prices will not change: with the current VW environmental bonus, the ID.3 Pro with the 59 kWh battery starts at 32,925 euros, while the 170 kW ID.3 Pro S with 77 kWh costs 40,525 euros – the Pro is therefore significantly cheaper even with the one-off performance upgrade. The standard range of 434 kilometres according to WLTP will not change, and the top speed will also remain at 160 kph. Only the acceleration time of 7.6 seconds from 0-100 kph could approach the value of the more powerful Pro S at 7.1 seconds.Incidentally, the performance upgrade has no effect on registration: according to VW, the highest possible performance is already specified in the registration certificate, so no change or registration is necessary.The ‘Performance Upgrade’ is not the only function that can be retrofitted to an ID.3 (or other ID. models). Depending on the model, navigation is available from 23 euros/month, ‘Light Assist’ high beam control from 4.50 euros/month, and ACC adaptive cruise control costs 9.50 euros/month, to name just a few examples. Here too, unlimited activation is possible for a one-off payment, even if the vehicle was not ordered with this function – this is interesting for the emerging used car market, for example, if the second owner wants to activate ACC or ambient lighting (€1.50/month or €59 one-off), but the first owner did not order these features. Whether a 20 kW upgrade is also a sensible option remains to be seen.When the new VW offer was announced at the weekend, initially for customers in the UK, the uproar on social media was already huge. In the past, similar campaigns by other manufacturers to retroactively unlock vehicle options that have already been installed via a subscription have been much discussed: at BMW, for example, this concerned the seat heating, at Mercedes, for example, the maximum possible steering angle of the rear axle steering or, in the USA only, the performance of the EQE and EQE SUV. Tesla also offers the option of retroactively activating functions for which the necessary hardware is installed – from the ‘Full Self Driving’ driving assistant to a performance upgrade.bbc.com, autoexpress.co.uk(UK), volkswagen.de (Germany)This article was first published bySebastian Schaalfor electrive’s German edition.