The BMW Group is celebrating its 100th birthday under the motto of ‘The Next 100 Years’.
The company says its centenary celebrations will focus primarily on what lies ahead and explore how individual mobility might develop over the coming decades.
To address this, the BMW Group has generated a futuristic scenario with a clear vision: premium mobility by the BMW Group will be completely effortless, comprehensively available and tailored to every customer’s individual preferences. At the moment, the world is on the verge of realising automated driving; in the not-too-distant future the majority of cars will probably be completely self-driving and travel the streets of cities inhabited by far more people than today.
In the future, one thing will be in ever shorter supply: time. But connectivity will become increasingly commonplace, and technologies will learn to learn from people. “Future mobility will connect every area of people’s lives. And that’s where we see new opportunities for premium mobility,” said Harald Krüger, chairman of the board of management of BMW AG.
The BMW Group has made its vision for the future a reality with the BMW VISION NEXT 100.
Driver-vehicle interactions are managed by Alive Geometry; Boost and Ease modes offer a choice of driver-controlled or vehicle-controlled operations, and the interior of the vehicle changes to suit the mode of travel. In Boost, the entire vehicle focuses on the driver, offering the support needed to maximise the driving experience – for instance by indicating the ideal driving line, steering point and speed. Ease mode sees the interior transform: the steering wheel and centre console retract; the headrests turn to the side, and the seats and door trim merge to form a single unit so that the driver and front-seat passenger can turn towards each other.
“If, as a designer, you are able to imagine something, there’s a good chance it could one day become reality,” said Adrian van Hooydonk, head of BMW Group design.
“So our objective with the BMW VISION NEXT 100 was to develop a future scenario that people would engage with.”
The BMW Vision Vehicle made its world debut at the Centenary Event in the Munich Olympic Hall on 7 March 2016 – exactly one hundred years after the company that is now known as BMW AG was first entered into the commercial register.
After its world debut, the BMW VISION NEXT 100 will go on a symbolic World Tour entitled “Iconic Impulses.” stopping in China, the UK and the USA.
