Yup, BMW already does in several countries, I believe Australia is next, and US was after that, but I believe that the uproar in the US postponed that a little. pretty soon we won't "own" anything. at this rate, and the wall street demand for recurring revenue will mean you'll need a subscription for everything.
And to be clear, I see that there are two different issues here. My very first car with navi required me to pay for map updates, but it absolutely never stopped working if i chose not to update.
The 90 day navigation is not purchased, people with that "option" are not buying navigation built in, they are buying an app that enables them to have navigation.
The 3 year navigation on the other hand, people are paying up front to "buy" navigation, the 3 years enables updates and live traffic.
Also, the BMW issue is more complex than "they are charging for heated seats", yes, technically they are, every other brand that includes heated seats is also. Nothing is free. The key is "when" they charge for them.
No one would care if a hyundai window sticker "charged" for heated seats on an entry level trim. But the expectation is that a "premium" brand like BMW should include such features as they already charge a premium price as well. People can choose to "buy" heated seats for $400, or pay $18/month. Is BMW lowering the price of the car $400? no, would anyone notice if they did? Also, no. As a matter of fact, the materials and manufacture cost is the same for them. They are really just ******* off the person spending 75k because it's call it out separately.
For BMW a better option is "all cars now come standard with heated seats, and all cars now cost $800 more".