The subscription systems in cars they are already the order of the day. Many new models come with all kinds of systems included as standard, but to use them, their owners have to pay a monthly fee. It is common to see it in points such as the headlights or the heated seats, although soon we could see how a new dimension is reached. And it is that it could lock some car functions (or stop it completely) if it is detected that the buyer is not up to date with payment.
Ford has filed a patent in the United States which consists of “systems and methods to recover possession of a vehicle”. It is exactly what it describes, the possibility that the brand can sell the car and later recover it if the client does not pay for it. The patent application dates from 2021 and has evolved as new technology has been applied. Through remote systems it would be possible to block some functions of the vehicle and leave it unusable so that the user cannot drive it until you pay.
In fact, with the advent of some autonomous driving systems, Ford could command its car to direct itself to another location to be picked up by tow truck or back to a dealer. It is something that would avoid conflicts when it comes to expropriating the vehicle from the buyer who does not pay, since a house that cannot be moved is not the same as a car that can be constantly moving. At the moment it is a purely hypothetical measurea patent for a system that we still don’t know if they will ever install in their cars.
However, it leaves many doubts in its wake and opens doors that we would not have considered. whatIt is legal for a manufacturer to have that right about the vehicle when it has already been purchased? Errors could occur and some user may be left without their car due to a mere failure of the payment system. Or even that you are up to date with your payment and that got blocked by mistake. It is still too early to see if this patent would work in the real world and there would surely be a lot of controversy. In addition, the legislation changes between countries, so there would be more complexities in this regard.
Source: US Patent Office
