BMW CEO Oliver Zipse speaks during the 21st Shanghai International Automobile Industry Exhibition astatine the National Exhibition and Convention Center successful Shanghai connected April 23, 2025.
Hector Retamal | Afp | Getty Images
German car elephantine BMW is doubling down connected its marque value, arsenic it prepares to rotation retired a fleet of software-controlled electrical vehicles to instrumentality the combat to Chinese rivals and Elon Musk's Tesla.
Speaking to CNBC up of adjacent week's Munich car show, wherever struggling European automakers are expected to look disconnected with Chinese newcomers, BMW CEO Oliver Zipse introduced the satellite premiere of the iX3 sports inferior vehicle.
The SUV is the archetypal accumulation exemplary to beryllium developed arsenic portion of BMW's long-awaited Neue Klasse platform of EVs.
The Munich-headquartered institution wants to merchandise more than 40 caller and updated vehicles onto the marketplace by 2027, arsenic it seeks to support gait with competitors.
Zipse told CNBC's Annette Weisbach connected Friday that the iX3 debut is the effect of a five-year journey.
"It is the astir important and the biggest azygous concern we've done ever, and it shows the way into the future. And what you spot present is lone the archetypal car of a bid of models, which employs the aforesaid technologies," Zipse said.
BMW has sought to revolutionize the integer offering of its caller models by focusing connected a alleged "superbrain architecture," which replaces hardware with a centralized machine system.
The institution says an "all-new integer tense system" for the Neue Klasse level has much than 20 times the computing powerfulness of its existent conveyance generation.
These integer platforms supply the computing capableness for automated driving and infotainment functions, arsenic good arsenic basal car functions, specified arsenic clime power and comfortableness features.
The propulsion to item the firm's technological improvement comes arsenic bequest European car manufacturers scramble to adjacent the spread with starring players of software-defined vehicles. U.S. EV-maker Tesla, alongside Chinese manufacturers including Xpeng and BYD, presently predominate this space.
"There is fierce competition, particularly terms contention successful China. There are a batch of caller players successful the marketplace [and] determination is simply a pugnacious combat astir marketplace share," Zipse said.
On the different hand, Zipse said the institution has conscionable implicit 3% marketplace stock worldwide and doesn't person to vie successful each marketplace segment. What volition assistance successful the areas that it does compete, Zipse said, is the firm's marque value.
"BMW is simply a promise. The marque is simply a committedness to person the highest imaginable quality, to person the latest technology, and to beryllium precise lawsuit orientated. I deliberation that is precise important," Zipse said.
Shares of BMW are up astir 13% year-to-date.
English (US) ·