CES/BMW boss: 'The car is not an iPhone on wheels' - Marketscreener.com

LAS VEGAS (dpa-AFX) - BMW CEO Oliver Zipse does not spot his company's concern threatened by tech groups' propulsion into the car industry. "We are not acrophobic of tech players astatine each due to the fact that we enactment with each of them," Zipse said connected the sidelines of the CES tech amusement successful Las Vegas. The aboriginal of the car industry, helium said, lies successful the task of connecting hardware and software. In doing so, manufacturers indispensable support sovereignty implicit information and "have the competence to beryllium a strategy integrator," Zipse stressed. The complexity of vehicles is simply a hurdle for tech competitors, helium said: "The car is not an iPhone connected wheels."

The tech assemblage has been gaining power successful the car manufacture for years. For example, they are offering Google and Apple smartphone users the quality to person their phones instrumentality implicit the cars' infotainment displays. Google is besides processing the Android operating system, which automakers are progressively utilizing arsenic a bundle basal successful the cockpit. Google's sister institution Waymo is gathering robotaxi services, and Apple is besides moving connected autonomous driving technology. At CES, Sony showed a prototype of a car developed with Honda that is to beryllium launched successful 2026 nether the marque sanction Afeela.

At the aforesaid time, the car concern is undergoing a profound transformation. The modulation to electromobility is bringing caller conveyance architectures - and manufacturers additionally privation to marque much wealth with integer services beyond car sales. Zipse sees limits to customers' willingness to bargain conveyance functions connected a subscription basis, for example: If they paid 50,000 euros for a car, "they can't accidental there's not everything successful it yet." And if idiosyncratic doesn't subscribe to a built-in technology, "then they've installed it for free.

The BMW brag is skeptical astir the marketplace prospects of today's autonomous driving systems, wherever the car tin instrumentality power successful immoderate situations and liability lies with the shaper during that time. According to communal classification, this is seen arsenic Level 3 of autonomous driving. At Level 4, a car besides lone drives itself nether predefined conditions, but quality involution is nary longer expected to beryllium necessary.

BMW rival Mercedes has been selling a Level 3 strategy successful immoderate models since past year, which takes implicit power and liability connected highways astatine speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hr until the quality takes backmost power erstwhile prompted.

Zipse does not presently spot the authorities of the creation arsenic capable for a concern model: "A Level 3 system, whether astatine 60, 80 oregon 120 kilometers per hour, that perpetually shuts down successful a tunnel, shuts down successful the rain, shuts down successful the dark, shuts down successful fog - what's the point? Doesn't bargain a customer." No 1 besides wants to beryllium successful the shoes of a shaper who misinterprets a postulation concern successful the liability phase, for example, erstwhile handing power backmost to the driver, helium said. "We don't instrumentality that risk."/so/DP/stk