By William Boston
MUNICH-- BMW AG unveiled its new top-of-the-line 7-Series sedan,
a luxury car packed with electronic wizardry like remote-control
parking that demonstrates how computing power is challenging
horsepower for buyer loyalty.
The latest 7-Series, due to land in showrooms in October,
arrives as the car industry faces a historic transformation. Tough
restrictions on emissions are forcing car makers to reduce weight
and develop electric and hybrid vehicles. Traditional car
manufacturers, which have ruled the industry for more than a
century, face new competition from startups like Tesla Motors
Inc.
And Silicon Valley technology stars including Apple Inc. and
Google Inc. are edging in to the business, threatening to usurp
profits from car-generated data and potentially bringing their own
driverless technology and cars to market.
The challenge for Germany's three premium brand
manufacturers--BMW, Audi and Mercedes-Benz--is to maintain their
technology lead even as the race shifts away from the gearbox to
information technology. The 7-Series is the BMW's clearest
statement yet of how it sees the future of driving.
"We are responding to the digitization of modern mobility," said
Chief Executive Harald Krüger at the model's launch on Wednesday.
"This vehicle has everything that BMW currently has to offer."
Even potential rivals say the country's auto makers have a
prized position in the automobile's coming autonomous era. "Every
German car will eventually be driven by a computer," Google CEO
Eric Schmidt told a conference in Berlin the same day. "Germany can
lead the world in this."
BMW's beefy 7-Series has become a coveted ride for executives
undeterred by a starting price just over EUR100,000 ($113,100). The
car comes in standard length and a long-wheelbase version for
customers who prefer to be driven by a chauffeur. Its body
incorporates carbon-fiber reinforced plastic to reduce weight by as
much as 130 kilograms from earlier models. The lightweight material
was first developed for BMW's niche i3 and i8 electric vehicles and
is being integrated in its mainstream cars to help lower
emissions.
BMW will offer a plug-in hybrid version, the 740e, adapting a
twinned combustion engine and electric powertrain developed for the
i8 sports car that will have 326 hp, consuming 2.1 liters of fuel
per 100 kilometers (112 miles a gallon) and producing just 49 grams
of CO2 per kilometer. That compares to fuel consumption of 8.3
liters and emissions of 197 grams for the top 750i V8 model.
The car's tech tour de force is a remote control with an LED
display. It allows the driver to exit the car and, by pressing a
command, have the car park itself into a tight parking space or
garage.
This remote parking feature is just the beginning of what's
coming down the road. German automotive supplier Bosch GmbH has
developed a valet parking system that will enable a car not only to
slip into a parking space but actually drive around the parking
garage and find a space and later come and pick up the driver.
Daimler AG, which owns rival Mercedes-Benz, this week said it has
formed a pilot project with Bosch to develop the valet parking
system.
The new BMW sedan comes with a color head-up display that
projects information onto the windshield with 75% more display area
than in previous models. BMW's iDrive infotainment center has its
own app store and features a touch screen display. New features
include gesture control that allow the driver to accept or reject
incoming phone calls or adjust the volume on the radio with a wave
of the hand.
Smartphones using Google's Android Auto or Apple's CarPlay can
be integrated into BMW's iDrive system.
The rich offering of infotainment is just one layer of how
digital technology is playing an increasing role in the car. In the
7-Series, BMW is offering a package of driver-assistance features
that include semi-automated steering and lane control at speeds of
up to 210 km/h.
BMW's emphasis on information technology in the new 7-Series is
a nod to how important such features are becoming to consumers.
Surveys show that as many as one in five of new car buyers would
switch brands if a rival brand offered a better connectivity
package.
"The intelligence of the car is totally new," said Christian
Malorny, a connected car consultant with McKinsey & Co. "How
intelligent my car is will become increasingly important to car
buyers."
Write to William Boston at william.boston@wsj.com
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