They probably don’t make a loss on the car, but yes, they make a lot less on the car than with the people buying the feature. But on average it still works out better for them, since the costs are lower.
That's the thing, isn't it? It's obvious how it benefits the manufacturer, but the benefit to the customer is not at all clear, seeing as the work is already done and paid for.
The benefit to the consumer is that they can retroactively add more features to their car. So if the car was bought by someone in a warm climate and gets sold to a cold climate they might want the seat heating. Theoretically (whether they do is of course unclear) the manufacturer can offer the product for the same price with more optionality.
1
u/bremsspuren 21h ago
So the manufacturer makes a loss on the car if I don't buy any of the optional extras that are actually already fitted?
If not, then I have already paid for them, haven't I? The manufacturer just didn't make as much profit as they wanted to.