Another point seems to be upgrade fees - e.g. with Volvo I have to pay for the dealers diagnostics software subscription, for the actual software update itself (yes, really), and for the time it takes because it blocks a slot in the dealers garage (and the diagnostics system).
Upgrades effectively easily cost 700 Euro per year, and they can't even tell me what's actually changed (at least it's optional).
If we only had the technology to roll out tamperproof updates, even if it was via a USB stick... /s (At least the map updates happen exactly that way).
Ergo, I'm under the impression they're really just only using this to siphon more money from the customers.
This is for non-mandatory updates - things like navigation and updates to a slightly less crappy UI.
For safety recalls the dealer bills the manufacturer for their time, so as the customer you don't need to pay anything (other than your time to take the car to the dealer).
I have a 3rd hand Toyota, and after I bought it I noticed none of the recalls had been done. I called up my local dealer, they ordered the parts, then two weeks later they replaced airbags, fuel tank lid and updated the ECU without me having to pay anything.
Oh, the paid updates might affect the infotainment system, but might also affect the ECU instead - at least as far as I'm aware, and then of course this might vary depending on the model year. Updates as part of a recall are free.
If we only had the technology to roll out tamperproof updates, even if it was via a USB stick... /s (At least the map updates happen exactly that way).
Ergo, I'm under the impression they're really just only using this to siphon more money from the customers.