How nice it is to have a choice often only notices when he has no more. In a free market, which, managed by the invisible hand, fulfills the preferences of all participants as far as their willingness to pay, however, should always be the freedom of choice. Which does not mean that every provider strives for their customers. Imagine that you had bought a new electric car for exactly a year ago, a small one, suitable for the city. The car included an app with which you can tell from home from the mobile, which is parked under the lantern, when it comes to work in the morning, that the windows are free of ice and the temperature on board reaches levels of well -being in good time. Otherwise, the app could notify one or the other, which is very useful for electric drivers, such as the charging status of the battery. At the end of last year, the manufacturer would have switched off the app. Free invented? Of all things, Mercedes-Benz appears exactly the way, the app for the electrical Smart built until spring 2024, the manufacturer switched off at the end of the year, euphemistically called “Sundown”. Reason: Communication with the car runs via the old mobile phone standard 2 g/3 g, the network is no longer available. As soon, someone in Stuttgart has probably taken over the long -term motto “the best or nothing”. In fact, the 2-G network of Telekom runs until mid-2028, Vodafone even speaks of a company by 2030, Telefónica/O2 does not show any expiry date. So it would have been enough time to change hardware and software, but that would have cost money, and that for a leaking model of a brand that was meanwhile been added to Chinese hands anyway. It is better to warn your own customers of the free market that is immediately reacting, if you use third -party providers, the warranty for the battery can no longer be taken over. Mercedes is, for the sake of fairness, in good company: Electropioners who had chosen a Nissan Leaf before 2016 suffered the same fate last year. In such cases . To pretend people that a certain decision was without alternative, was rarely a good idea. Everything beyond physics can be changed, in particular this applies to laws and regulations. They are not god, not even when they come from Brussels. There is also no guarantee for politicians, not in the here and now. Time for the Sunday walk! More on the topic
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