technology
BMW boss: “The car is not an iPhone on wheels”
Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW. photo
© Peter Kneffel/dpa
Whether autonomous driving or entertainment – the role of tech companies such as Apple, Google and Sony in the automotive industry is growing. However, the BMW boss sees clear limits in the market for digital services.
BMW boss Oliver Zipse does not see his company’s business as being threatened by the advance of tech companies into the automotive industry. “We are not at all afraid of tech players because we work with everyone,” said Zipse on the sidelines of the CES technology fair in Las Vegas.
The future of the automotive industry lies in the task of connecting hardware and software. The manufacturers would have to maintain sovereignty over the data and “have the competence to be a system integrator,” stressed Zipse. The complexity of the vehicles is a hurdle for the tech competitors: “The car is not an iPhone on wheels.”
The technology industry has been gaining influence in the auto industry for years. For example, they offer Google and Apple smartphone users the option of having their phones take over the infotainment displays in cars. Google is also developing the Android operating system, which car manufacturers are increasingly using as the software basis in the cockpit. Google sister company Waymo is building robotaxi services, and Apple is also working on autonomous driving technology. At CES, Sony showed the prototype of a car developed with Honda, which is to be launched in 2026 under the brand name Afeela.
Industry undergoing profound change
At the same time, the car business is undergoing profound change. The transition to electromobility brings new vehicle architectures – and manufacturers also want to earn more money with digital services beyond car sales. Zipse sees limits to the willingness of customers to buy additional vehicle functions, for example in a subscription: If they pay 50,000 euros for a car, “they can’t say it’s not all there yet”. And if someone does not subscribe to a built-in technology, “then they installed it for free”.
The BMW boss is skeptical about the market prospects of today’s autonomous driving systems, where the car can take control in some situations and liability lies with the manufacturer during this time. According to common classification, this is seen as level 3 of autonomous driving. At level 4, a car only drives itself under specified conditions, but human intervention should no longer be necessary.
BMW competitor Mercedes has been selling a Level 3 system in some models since last year, which takes over control and liability on freeways at speeds of up to 60 kilometers per hour until the human takes control back when requested.
Zipse currently does not see the current state of the art as sufficient for a business model: “A level 3 system, whether at 60, 80 or 120 kilometers per hour, which constantly switches off in the tunnel, switches off when it rains, switches off in the dark, switches off when it’s foggy – what’s the point? No customer buys it.” No one wants to be in the shoes of a manufacturer who misinterprets a traffic situation during the liability phase, for example when handing control back to the driver. “We don’t take the risk.”