On April 18, 2023, the BMW Group made a dazzling appearance with a powerful lineup of electric vehicles at the 2023 Shanghai Auto Show, with its four major brands BMW, MINI, BMW Motorrad and Rolls-Royce showcasing their electric lineups on the media day of the first day.
The BMW Group exhibition theme is “Imagine the Future – Electric with All Your Heart”. Three BMW electric vehicle models made their global debut: The innovative all-electric BMW i7 M70L, which combines the pure electric M performance car with the BMW flagship model, establishing a new milestone for the BMW brand flagship and electric process. The other two are the pinnacle of plug-in hybrid power, the innovative BMW XM Label Red Limited Edition, and the domestically-produced innovative pure electric BMW iX1, which comes with a new design and upgraded luxury value.
Two top-level luxury electric vehicles were also unveiled in China for the first time, including the plug-in hybrid new BMW M760Le and the pure electric Rolls-Royce (Spectre) Wraith.
Three concept cars gathered in Shanghai, clearly demonstrating BMW’s clear understanding of the direction of the industry transformation: the future of cars will definitely be characterized by electrification, digitization, and circular sustainability. The BMW Dee digital concept car and its full-color E Ink version made their Asian debut, creating a new luxurious experience of in-depth integration of electric and digital technology through “technical magic”. Also, the MINI Concept Aceman pure electric urban crossover concept car, indicating the new design language of “mini and minimalism” for the next generation MINI pure electric car under the blessing of digitization.
BMW Group Chairman Zipse, along with the board member responsible for customer, brand, and sales, Notte, and the board member responsible for research and development, Weberfahr, attended the press conference. Zipse stated that with the ability for sustainable innovation and rapid integration and mass production of software and hardware, BMW Group is strong in the digital and electrification fields, and China will be the pioneering market for BMW’s ideas and future development. The company will continue to expand its advantages in the industry chain in China, accelerate the layout of electrified vehicles, and the innovative pure electric long-wheelbase BMW i5 will be launched later this year.
Deep Integration of Electrification, Intelligence, and Luxury – BMW responds to Chinese customer demands with diverse electrified lineup
This year’s auto show, BMW Group presented its strongest lineup of electrified products ever. The diversity of the product lineup is incredible, including pure electric BMW i3, i4, i7, iX1, iX3, iX, and other models, as well as the plug-in hybrid BMW M760Le and innovative BMW XM Label Red limited edition.
Later this year, BMW will also launch its innovative pure electric long-wheelbase BMW i5, which means that the luxury sedan that has repeatedly won sales championships in the same level will also enter electrification. Since BMW entered the Chinese market in 1994, it has served over 7 million customers in China. Currently, BMW Group has over 630 suppliers in China, and almost all dealerships are qualified to sell and service electric vehicles. In 2023, BMW Group’s various brands will continue to increase their electric offensive in the Chinese (including Hong Kong, Macau, and Taiwan) market, expanding the pure electric product lineup to 11 models, providing customers with a more diverse selection in various niche markets.
The deep integration of electric and intelligent technology is the highlight of BMW Group’s auto show. With the launch of each new car, BMW elevates the customers’ intelligent interconnection experience to a new level, incorporating human emotions rather than pursuing the accumulation of functions, creating true experiential value for customers. The innovative pure electric BMW i7’s wrap-around interactive light strip and rear floating screen are industry-leading innovations, fully demonstrating the enchanting charm of BMW’s “technical magic”.More strikingly, the 9th generation (BMW) operating system made its debut with the innovative pure electric BMW iX1. The system is customized for Chinese users, and innovation is carried out from multiple dimensions. The clever control floating window design makes the user experience more focused and convenient to use; the BMW intelligent personal assistant reacts faster, making the interaction between human and car more emotional. Based on the development concept of “in China, for China, for the world”, China’s digital research and development team participated deeply in the development of the new system, making the proportion of China’s market-specific functions close to 70%.
BMW perfectly integrates brand sports genes and luxury quality into the smart electric era. Zipse said that BMW’s pursuit of the brand is “touching the body and mind, pleasing the emotions”. As the flagship model of BMW electric vehicles, the innovative pure electric BMW i7 M70L is the most appropriate interpretation. The M exclusive electric drive system, 485 kW peak power, 1,100 N·m maximum torque, 3.7 s breaking performance, all integrated into the atmosphere, luxury, and technology of the BMW i7.
Another peak work of the BMW M high-performance model-Innovative BMW XM Label Red Limited Edition interprets the perfect combination of top luxury, ultimate performance, and personality. The innovative pure electric BMW iX1, which has attracted much attention, has integrated a new man-machine interactive experience and high-quality into a powerful new design, significantly increasing the luxury value of electric cars of the same level.
The future of creative digital emotional experience, the new generation of models will continue to lead luxury electric travel
At this auto show, BMW brought the extraordinary BMW Dee Digital Concept Car. Unlike general concept cars used to showcase styling, this car showcases the future evolution direction of BMW digital cars: bold innovation centered on people, making cold digital technology full of emotions, and making future BMW cars the perfect digital partner that links the real and virtual worlds.
Most strikingly, this concept car is equipped with a leading-edge new generation of flat-panel display technology-the BMW panoramic view bridge. The BMW panoramic view bridge can project information into the dark coated area at the bottom edge of the windshield. The projected image has excellent clarity and color performance, and for the first time, it allows all passengers to see the information covering the entire width of the windshield. BMW, as the creator of the HUD flat-panel display system, has led the development of this technology for 20 years and has always perfectly carried BMW’s “eyes on the road, hands on the steering wheel” safe driving concept.At the press conference, BMW announced that the advanced head-up display system will become the basic element of BMW’s future human-machine interaction design. What’s exciting is that the BMW Panorama Bridge will make its debut with BMW’s new generation of vehicles in 2025. The new generation of vehicles will be equipped with newly developed electronic and electrical architecture, as well as a new user interface and human-machine interaction concept. They will also feature newly developed electric drive and battery systems with high performance and significant efficiency improvements. In addition, they will possess outstanding circular sustainability features.
According to the plan, BMW Group will start production of the new generation of vehicles in 2025 and produce at least six new models within the following 24 months. BMW’s research and development and design teams in China will participate in the development of the new generation of vehicles at the Munich headquarters, reflecting BMW’s consistent emphasis on Chinese customers.
BMW also brought another full-color E Ink version of the BMW Dee digital concept car to the booth, showcasing the vision of the future digital experience outside the car: the color of the car body changes as desired. This concept car has brought customized exclusive surprises to Chinese consumers, BMW “Splendid” limited edition color: inspired by the Chinese Tang Sancai, the collision between “technological magic” and the beauty of Chinese tradition is realized through the 32-color variable color car body of full-color E Ink technology, taking personalization and emotionalization to a whole new level.
Seize Today, Create the Future, and Embark on a New Era of Electric Intelligence for the BMW Group
Many star models were also dazzling at the BMW booth. The innovative BMW XM Label Red limited edition made its global debut, with only 500 units worldwide. The personalized custom special coating in matte carbon black highlights its imposing appearance. Thanks to the powerful M hybrid drive system, its comprehensive maximum output power is as high as 550 kW, and the comprehensive peak torque can reach 1,000 N·m, with a zero to one hundred acceleration time of only 3.8 seconds, making it the most powerful high-performance model in BMW M history.
The all-new BMW M760Le also made its first appearance in China. This is the first time BMW has introduced a plug-in hybrid M model on the BMW 7 series. The exterior and interior of the car both adopt an exclusive M design package, highlighting the BMW M performance characteristics of this plug-in hybrid version.
At this year’s auto show, BMW’s booth also showcased a unique model – the BMW iX5 Hydrogen fuel cell vehicle, which represents the BMW Group’s innovative exploration in the field of zero-emission travel. This car not only has outstanding acceleration performance, but also runs quietly during operation. Refueling is fast, and the hydrogen storage tank can be filled in just 3-4 minutes, even in cold winter. As a small-scale production car that has been put into road testing, the BMW iX5 Hydrogen demonstrates that the BMW Group is committed to maintaining a technology open strategy to ensure core competitiveness in various technology directions for future zero-emission travel.
The highlight of the MINI brand under the BMW Group is the first-ever all-electric urban crossover concept car MINI Concept Aceman, which has once again appeared in Shanghai, showcasing the brand new “minimalism meets technology” design language under the digital experience, achieving deep connection with users and demonstrating MINI’s high attention to sustainability.
In short, MINI remains as charming as ever in the era of electrification. The concept car integrates rich functions into the world’s first circular OLED display screen of MINI, which can also extend the screen image to the entire interior panel through projection technology, pushing MINI interactive experience into a new era. MINI innovatively presents its latest digital achievement – the digital smart pet MINI Spike, which makes its global debut.
This image of a British Bulldog will become the “smart personal assistant” of the MINI family, wandering around the playful MINI digital world with users. In terms of environmentally friendly materials, MINI creates sustainable future vehicles with unique ideas. By boldly abandoning chrome elements and leather, and using a large amount of high-quality knitted fabrics, the fresh color matching, supplemented by soft and fluffy materials, makes the interior space more warm and comfortable while retaining the unique delicacy and luxury of MINI.
In addition to various brands of electric vehicles, the BMW CE 04 also appeared on the BMW booth. This is the second mass-produced all-electric motorcycle of BMW. The BMW CE 04 was officially put on the market last year. With its highly revolutionary scooter image, efficient drive system, and advanced digital technology, it once again interprets the brand core of “making riding a way of life”. The BMW CE 04 sets a milestone again for the electrification of BMW Motorrad’s urban travel series. According to the plan, BMW Motorrad’s urban travel series will achieve full electrification from 2030.
This year marks the 70th anniversary of China’s automobile industry and the 20th anniversary of BMW brand’s joint venture enterprise, BMW Brilliance Automotive Ltd., in China. In the past 20 years, the BMW Shenyang Plant has produced more than 5 million BMW cars. With the completion and production of the LiDa plant of BMW iFACTORY Tielu, its annual production capacity in China can reach 830,000 vehicles. Since entering the Chinese market, the BMW Group has actively participated in and supported the development of China’s automobile industry in the past nearly 30 years and will continue to be a partner with China to embark on the journey to modernization in the future.
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.