I think there is some relevent points in this thread. I can see the merits behind simplifying the amountb of build options that the manufacturer has to do. By providing some extra equipment / functionality in some cars this will probably result in the manufacturer saving money. They already do it with engines to a certain extent, on some models there are 2 or 3 different specs of engine that vary only in the ECU mapping. I would expect that VCDS may not have the ability to enable some of this extra functionality it would be done in a similar way to how the component protection works. So upgrades could only be done by dealers or specialists with access to the dealer network.