Author: Tuantuan
2021 can be said to be the first year of the electrification of traditional car brands. Following Volkswagen’s lead with the ID. series products at the beginning of the year, BMW and Mercedes-Benz have also successively launched their own products under their new electrification strategy. The BMW iX innovation was officially released at the 2021 Guangzhou Auto Show, while the all-new Mercedes EQS also recently officially launched in the Chinese market.
Among the flagship luxury electric vehicles, the BMW iX has the highest profile at the moment. However, when everyone saw the price of the xDrive 50 version at 846,900 yuan, they gave the same response – expensive! Even if its price is almost on par with the same level of petrol engine X5, the outside world still expresses a completely incomprehensible attitude.
Cannot Ignore Product Strength when Discussing Value
Such feedback is understandable, because our consumers have not yet been exposed to high-end electric vehicle products. Currently, the hot market segment is priced between 250,000 to 500,000 yuan, and people are focusing on those rising new car companies and traditional independent brands that have just completed their transformation.
If we compare NIO ES8 and BMW iX, they are indeed similar in size, so is the 250,000 yuan price difference purely a premium for the brand? If you believe that the difference is caused by brand premium, and have a negative attitude towards the pricing of iX, then I would like to ask a question in return. Toyota Highlander and BMW X5 are also similar in size. Why is the X5 600,000 yuan more expensive than the Highlander, yet people are still buying it, and even with monthly sales of five to six thousand units being common?
Product strength, brand and value are complementary relationships. No brand can be unreasonably labeled as a high-end brand. So, we cannot ignore product strength when discussing the value of this car. Of course, product strength is not something that can be simply listed on a checklist, and the comparison of the configurations of the two cars alone cannot lead us to a conclusion. For traditional luxury brands, better experience has always been the key to their success in the high-end market.
The BMW iX xDrive50 is equipped with a dual electric motor drive system for the front and rear axles, with a maximum output power of 370 kW and an acceleration time of 4.6 seconds for 100 kilometers. The cobalt-free lithium-ion battery pack, integrated with CTP technology, has a maximum capacity of 105.2 kW·h, and under the CLTC standard, it can travel up to 665 kilometers on a single charge. The car can accept a maximum charging power of up to 100 kW for DC charging, and it takes only 56 minutes to charge the battery from 0 to 80%. When charging with AC power at a maximum power of 11 kW, it can be fully charged in just 10.75 hours, making electric travel more convenient.
The new car comes with up to 30 luxury features, including a panoramic adjustable light roof, flowing glass controls, and an olive-leaf-tanned leather interior with a unified suspension curved screen. Additionally, there are 18 more luxury features available for customers to choose from, including a Bowers & Wilkins 4D diamond surround sound system and 22-inch aerodynamic wheels, among others, which are the first to be offered by BMW.
The Bowers & Wilkins 4D diamond surround sound system features seat-linked vibration, with seats vibrating in sync with the rhythm of the music, providing users with a sensory experience through both auditory and visual dimensions. Speakers are also equipped on the headrests of the driver and front passenger seats to enhance the surround sound experience.
In luxury cars, the selection of leather in the cabin is crucial to the quality experience. On the BMW iX, which adheres to the “sustainable concept,” BMW has replaced traditional leather with materials that have been specially processed from eco-friendly materials.
The control panel on the center console is made of FSC-certified sustainably produced wood. The interior and fabrics also utilize a significant amount of recycled materials, including 50% recycled polyester fibers in the fabric/microfiber interior, and 100% recycled nylon material in the carpet and floor mats. The manufacturing process is more environmentally friendly, with the leather being treated with olive extract rather than traditional tanning agents, with the extract sourced from olive trees that are pruned annually in European olive groves.The BMW iX is the first to feature a comfortable heating suit that uses infrared heating technology. Infrared heating is a non-contact heating method that converts internal energy into radiant energy for heat transfer, different from traditional electric heating. Infrared heating has the advantages of fast heating speed, low noise, low energy consumption, and does not dry out the skin. It can also better protect the leather material in the car interior.
Through this technology, we can see that innovative technology is not limited to intelligence. Utilizing innovative technology to change the driving experience is an important strategy for BMW.
In the first batch of products from traditional luxury brands, the issues of battery life and charging have always been criticized. However, the new BMW iX is a product completely designed for pure electric structure. For example, carbon fiber reinforced composite materials are widely used in the side frame of the BMW iX body to enhance body rigidity to cope with the additional weight of the battery pack. At the same time, it further reduces the weight of the body, and combined with a 0.25 drag coefficient, the BMW iX significantly improves its battery life, making it completely suitable for urban commuting and short-medium distance intercity travel.
We can see that the BMW iX is a product with “fully loaded” configurations. Furthermore, BMW’s sincerity to the users lies in using new technologies, processes, and materials to create a more outstanding experience and feeling, completely in line with the pricing logic of a technological flagship.
The BMW Experience and Driving Sensation
Driving performance is BMW’s specialty. Even on this vehicle that weighs more than 2.5 tons and has a length of nearly 5 meters, with a wheelbase of 3 meters, BMW can use technological means to give users the best driving experience.
In terms of chassis hardware, the BMW iX’s front suspension is a double-wishbone independent suspension, and the rear suspension is a five-link independent suspension specially developed for electric vehicles. The progressive damping system uses hydraulic damping technology to actively adjust the hardness of the shock absorber based on the shape of the damping spring, achieving a balance between dynamic performance and comfort. On roads with large undulations, the progressive damping system can avoid the body from violently bouncing. On slightly bumpy roads, it can effectively prevent vibrations from entering the cabin, thereby improving driving comfort.
In the increasingly competitive passenger car market, independent brands have already adopted self-adaptive air suspension, a configuration that was traditionally only available on high-end cars. In fact, there are also differences between air suspensions. For example, the BMW iX provides users with a self-adaptive double-axle air suspension that can control body sway in both horizontal and vertical directions, ensuring comfort while improving flexibility and stability during turns.
To provide more driving pleasure while maintaining a comfortable driving experience, I believe that is where BMW’s brand core value lies with the BMW iX. With the xDrive intelligent all-wheel drive system, the BMW iX can handle complex road conditions and extreme weather. The rear-axle steering system can reduce the turning radius of the vehicle at low speeds while providing better high-speed stability. The 17-inch large brake discs also provide better braking power and stability under the condition of a 2.5-ton vehicle weight.
BMW also designed the geometric polygon steering wheel on the iX’s steering wheel, which not only provides a better grip but also solves the problem of the steering wheel blocking the screen. The simulated electronic sound waves can provide multiple sensory stimulation, providing users with an immersive driving experience.
More screens and LiDARs cannot represent the degree of intelligence of a car
What is the easiest way to make a car look like it belongs to the era of intelligence? The simplest way is to put a large screen on the center console, and if users feel that one screen is not enough, there can be more. The co-driver and rear passengers can all have their own car screens.
In the current intelligent automotive market, having 3 screens is already the norm, and some even use five to seven screens to boast their leading position in the field of intelligence. However, vehicle screens are not a necessity for other passengers besides the driver, who needs them for information and controlling the vehicle. When passengers pick up their own phones in front of the vehicle screen, it’s time to consider what exactly we mean by “intelligence”.
The focus of intelligence in the car cabin field should be on the more convenient human-computer interaction logic, and vehicle screens are just a medium of interaction. The four most popular intelligent cabin interaction methods currently are voice, touch, buttons, and gestures. Engineers and designers need to consider what is the optimal interaction method for specific scenarios, and incorporate screens into them. Enlarging screens blindly is meaningless.
In the all-new BMW iX, the number of physical keys inside the vehicle has been reduced by about 50%. The iX is the first BMW model to feature an integrated floating curved screen. The 12.3-inch instrument panel and the 14.9-inch touch central display are combined into one. Both screens have extremely high graphics resolutions of 200 pixels per inch, providing rich light and shadow effects and better viewing experiences, complemented by the borderless design and anti-glare display technology.
The size, placement, and angle of the screen have an impact on the interaction of information between the driver and the car. In this aspect, BMW conducts more than 70 surveys worldwide each year to listen to feedback from millions of users. After careful design, the display screen tilts approximately 6 degrees towards the driver, which is the classic “driver-oriented” interior design concept of BMW.
The new generation iDrive system still retains physical operation, not out of a nostalgic attitude, but rather provides the best solution for blind operation of the car system while driving. The central console uses high-end wood materials, and the familiar iDrive control knob is decorated with colorful glass, and the delicate touch and quality can fully show BMW’s style and differentiated understanding of interaction logic.
On the new BMW iX, the upgraded BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant adopts a new visual image that can bring more emotional interaction experience to users. The breath-style light ball of different sizes and brightness allows the Intelligent Personal Assistant to have a new way of emotional expression.
In addition, the innovative BMW iX will be the first to be equipped with Tencent Xiao Chǎng Jǐng 2.0 and WeChat Car Edition. Small scenes such as Fan Deng Reading, Kai Uncle Storytelling, and Love Movie will further enrich the car’s functions and user experience, allowing users to gain useful knowledge during driving and rest time, bringing a pleasant spiritual journey. Through WeChat Car Edition, users can easily and conveniently check unread messages, send voice messages, answer/make WeChat calls with voice, reduce offline anxiety, and dependency on mobile phones, helping drivers focus on safe driving.
BMW Operating System 8.0 supports OTA remote upgrades. The 20-minute remote software upgrade allows the vehicle to operate safely, reliably, and smoothly at all times. BMW Digital Key Plus uses UWB ultra-wideband technology, which has accurate positioning to the centimeter level, high security, and makes the user’s boarding experience more ceremonial. Users do not need to take out their phones. The welcome carpet that can start the car is only 3 meters away from the vehicle. The car is unlocked automatically at 1.5 meters, and the vehicle can be started directly after getting on.
The “Shy Tech” invisible technology inside the cabin is also a major highlight of the BMW iX interior design. Through clever deployment, it only appears when it is actually needed, satisfying the needs of drivers and passengers in a subtle way, conveying a sense of safety and familiarity, and establishing a new connection between the driver and the vehicle. The hidden speakers, exquisitely designed air vents, and other areas that are concealed from view all demonstrate the human-centered design philosophy of “Shy Tech” invisible technology.
There is no doubt that the ability of intelligent driving is also a key factor in evaluating the degree of intelligence of a car. In terms of the layout of environmental perception sensors, the innovative BMW iX is the first model from BMW to be equipped with an 8 million pixel front camera and a front laser radar system with a monitoring range of up to 300 meters. The intelligent environment perception system is composed of five cameras, five radar sensors, and twelve ultrasonic sensors, providing users with precise and reliable automatic driving assistance functions.
At the same time, the BMW iX is also the world’s first high-end model to adopt 5G interconnection technology and the first to use gigabit Ethernet technology, with the highest data flow transmission speed in the car reaching 30 Gbit per second, which is 10-20 times faster than current vehicles. The powerful computing platform and new generation sensor system are ready for the continuous upgrade of cloud computing, vehicle-road collaboration, and automatic driving functions.
No user is a fool
Today, consumers have a comprehensive understanding of cars, and BMW understands that it cannot offer a product that fails to meet the value and product strength at a disproportionate price in the Chinese market where it has a strong brand reputation. Any sneaky behavior will make the high-value brand value fence collapse in the face of savvy Chinese consumers.
After presenting the product strength of the BMW iX one by one, I think everyone should have an answer as to whether the innovative BMW iX xDrive50 is worth the 846,900 yuan price.
This article is a translation by ChatGPT of a Chinese report from 42HOW. If you have any questions about it, please email bd@42how.com.