In a recent press conference, the BMW Group announced it will focus their efforts on dominating the electric and autonomous vehicle markets. They believe it is time for BMW to reinvent itself with a focus on people and the environment. BMW recently celebrated their 100th anniversary while unveiling their new Vision NEXT 100 Concept, an electric and autonomous car with “shape-shifting” qualities.
At the press conference, BMW also showed off their new electric flagship, the iNEXT, which takes many design characteristics from the Vision 100 concept (minus the shape-shifting). This new line should “set standards for future technologies” in the electric – autonomous vehicle market.
BMW plans on expanding their BMW i product line with more environmentally conscious vehicles. In addition, they will also work to improve the i3’s battery capacity and range by the end of 2016. A lot of improvement in those two areas will have to be made if BMW hopes to beat Tesla’s performance.
BMW AG’s Board of Management w/ BMW iNEXT model on display
Finally, BMW will launch “Project i 2.0” which focuses on fully automated and networked driving. The project will devote attention to “high definition digital maps, sensor technology, cloud technology and artificial intelligence” to produce a safe and reliable platform.
With all of these ambitious plans in place, BMW hopes to secure the company’s position as technological market leader for the future. You can read their full press report to get all of the details. What do you think of these announcements? Is BMW’s scope too great?
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