A growing number of OEMs are now integrating a wider variety of software into their vehicles. As the reach of this software expands to further areas of the vehicle, more opportunities are emerging to shift feature monetization from point-of-sale to after-sales. If adopted successfully, this business model – called Features-as-a-Service (FaaS) – will provide legacy OEMs with new revenue streams and pave the way for new players.

However, the industry-wide adoption of FaaS will require a leap of faith from OEMs – many of whom will need to consider how best to recover hardware costs across the vehicle lifecycle. At the same time, these OEMs must be well equipped to succeed in the competitive FaaS ecosystem. Not only does this mean staying ahead of their traditional automotive competitors, but also a variety of emerging players – including start-ups, suppliers, technology firms, and entertainment companies.

This report takes a deep dive into the FaaS eco-system, identifying which features are most likely to succeed while measuring the model’s real-world success to date. It profiles the OEMs who have successfully commercialized features while analyzing the activity of other OEMs seeking to replicate this success. Further insights into consumer attitudes around the FaaS model are provided to help OEMs develop their own strategies.