BMW, one of the world’s largest automakers, seems to have decided to introduce a significant strategic change, which many industry observers believe has been long overdue. The German luxury-car manufacturer has announced that it intends to drastically increase focus on the development of electric cars and autonomous driving technology, in light of the emerging and quite real threat from companies like Google, Apple, Uber and Tesla Motors, that seem to have set out to take over the auto industry.
“Strategy Number One>Next” to Introduce Innovative Mobility Solutions
At its Annual Accounts Press Conference in Munich, BMW unveiled its Strategy Number One>Next plan, that is supposed to bring the company into a new era of personal mobility.
“Throughout its 100-year history, the BMW Group has always reinvented itself. As a pioneer of new technologies, the company has shaped change, within both the industry and the world of mobility,” said Harald Krüger, chairman of BMW’s board of management.
The main aspects of BMW’s new strategy are a new model from its “i” product range, and various projects aimed at advancing automated driving.
New i Model in About Five Years
At the moment, BMW’s i Division only offers two models, the all-electric i3 and the plug-in hybrid i8, and there has been a lot of speculation as to when the next vehicle from the car maker’s sub-brand will be launched and what it will look like.
Now, the company says that is working on a new project titled i 2.0, which focuses on electric cars and self-driving technologies. The first product developed within this project will be a new, all-electric vehicle with self-driving capabilities, internally called iNEXT, which is due to launch at the beginning of the next decade.
“BMW iNEXT heralds the next era of mobility,” stated Krüger. “This symbol of our technology leadership will demonstrate how we will bring the future of mobility into series production.” It also underlines BMW i’s role as a driver of innovation and technological trailblazer for the company. The brand develops trend-setting technologies and services, subsequently transferring them to the BMW model range.
There are no details on the car’s specifications, but the company did say that the iNEXT will feature lightweight construction, which means that it will probably be largely built from carbon-fiber reinforced plastics, just like the i3, and that it will feature a high level of in-vehicle connectivity.
Furthermore, BMW says that project i 2.0 will focus on artificial intelligence, sensor technology, cloud technology and high-definition digital maps.
As the pressure from the leading Silicon Valley-based tech companies on established automakers increases, BMW hopes that this new strategy will help it remain at the top of the luxury car segment and play a significant role in the future self-driving car market.