THE NEXT 100 YEARS: BMW Group takes future mobility experience around the world

• Harald Krüger: The best way to prepare for the future is to shape it yourself
• World premiere of the exhibition and event platform “Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience” at the Ullens Center for Contemporary Art in Beijing
• BMW VISION NEXT 100 makes Asian debut 

Beijing. 2016 sees the BMW Group celebrate its centenary – under the motto THE NEXT 100 YEARS.

As the centenary year progresses, the BMW Group continues to focus first and foremost on the future, exploring the question of what individual mobility will look like over the coming decades. The BMW Group believes that over the next ten years alone, the automotive industry will change faster than it has over the last thirty. The reasons for this transformation are already apparent today and include burgeoning urbanisation and the ever-increasing influence of technology on our everyday lives and work.

“Our vision is for future mobility to be effortless, available on demand and tailor-made for all customers and for their individual needs,” said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of BMW AG, speaking to the Chinese media at the start of today’s press conference in Beijing.

The BMW Group considers itself an active force in shaping tomorrow’s mobility solutions. Individual mobility will remain a fundamental human need, but over the years ahead it will interconnect the various areas of our lives more and more closely – a development the company believes harbours new opportunities for premium mobility. “The best way to prepare for the future is to shape it yourself,” said Harald Krüger.

Throughout the company’s centenary year, the BMW Group is bringing its vision of the future to life through the vision vehicles of its four brands and through “Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience”, an exhibition and event platform designed to explore and inspire potential mobility concepts for the future.

After centenary activities officially began on 7 March in Munich, BMW’s vision vehicle, the BMW VISION NEXT 100, travelled to China, where it is now on show in Beijing. Later, it will move on to London, where the BMW Group will unveil the vision vehicles of its British brands, MINI and Rolls-Royce. The final stop will be in Los Angeles, USA, where the fourth and final vision vehicle, from BMW Motorrad, will complete the brand quartet.

BMW VISION NEXT 100 Asian debut

The BMW VISION NEXT 100 stands for the brand’s renowned sheer driving pleasure. In the future, BMW drivers will still want to spend most of the time they are in their car at the wheel. In the BMW VISION NEXT 100, the driver will remain firmly in the focus, with constant connectivity, digital intelligence and state-of-the-art technologies available for support. But that’s not all: the BMW VISION NEXT 100 will turn the driver into the “Ultimate Driver”. So even though the world may well be changing, Sheer Driving Pleasure is here to stay – and will be more intense than ever before. But for those situations where driving isn’t so enjoyable, the BMW VISION NEXT 100 has all the technology needed to take over the driver’s role completely, allowing the driver to sit back and use the time in the way they want.

The BMW VISION NEXT 100 is making its Asian debut in Beijing, one of the world’s fastest-changing megacities, where it forms part of the travelling exhibition and event platform “Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience”.

The People’s Republic of China is an all-important pacesetter for future mobility, with a market characterised by young consumers who readily embrace technology. These consumers are the main driving force behind the country’s dynamic development in recent years and will continue to set the pace in the future. BMW Group’s commitment in China includes an R&D office, a Designworks Studio and a ConnectedDrive Lab. The plant in Shenyang is an important component in the company’s global production network, supporting its strategy of balanced global growth with production capacity in the relevant regional markets.

World premiere of the “Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience”

Following a press conference for Chinese media in Beijing’s Ullens Center for Contemporary Art, the BMW Group officially opened its “Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience”. The exhibition and event platform will be open to the general public from 6-15 May.

The future vision presented at the exhibition reaches far beyond anything a short-term solution could offer, providing a multifaceted and inspiring preview of forthcoming trends that will impact not only the automotive industry, but our everyday lives as a whole.

The exhibition is based on a narrative strand that leads the visitor through different experience zones. With its unique spatial concept, visitors will feel part of the world which is being explored. They will be led through the foyer into different thematic spaces: the inner rotunda and the “brand areas”.

The foyer: Bridge to the future

The narrative begins in the foyer, where interactive media offer insights into the company’s 100-year history, showing how it has regularly contributed to shaping the future. Further exhibits demonstrate the technical competence and sense of responsibility that underpin the BMW Group’s leadership and future aspirations. In addition, the foyer area offers a general introduction to key megatrends, together with glimpses of potential future worlds. Visitors will get an impression of what the future could look like while also exploring the challenges and opportunities that will accompany the societal transformation of the coming decades.

This interplay between proven success and visionary thinking paves the way for the exhibits on show in the inner rotunda.

The inner rotunda: The BMW Group’s vision of the future

The BMW Group is poised and resolved to be a key influence on the way the coming decades develop.

The inner rotunda invites visitors to experience the BMW Group’s vision of the future. It also explains how the company views its social and environmental responsibility towards its associates and society as a whole. The BMW Group envisages a sustainable future, with increasingly eco-friendly vehicles and vehicle production methods.

In the future, the BMW Group will continue to be the leading provider of premium products and services in the realm of individual mobility. It will do this at a time when ‘mobility’ will become more multifaceted and technology, which is developing at breakneck speed, will become increasingly human. Digital services will recognise people’s needs and wishes, process them and continuously learn from them. As connectivity increases, the BMW Group will transform electronic data into digital intelligence, which it will use to add genuine value for customers. Mobility solutions will be customised and flexibly adjustable to suit individual requirements at any given moment.

At every location of “Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience”, the inner rotunda will also provide a setting in which to unveil the vision vehicles and hold press conferences or other events. In doing so, the BMW Group will offer platforms for discussion of key future topics. Individuals from a variety of fields, such as politics, science, business, culture and the public will be invited to share their thoughts and ideas, creating an engaging atmosphere of open exchange and an all-round look at important future topics.

The brand area: Brand experiences of the future

In the brand area, visitors can experience the four different brand spaces of BMW, MINI, Rolls-Royce and BMW Motorrad. In each brand space, visitors will be able to use interactive contact points and view exhibits to gain insights into the key aspects of the future as viewed by each of the BMW Group’s brands.

Each brand space offers a variety of information sources, with an interactive sculpture, called the Attractor, providing an abstract, artistic reflection of each brand’s mission statement on future mobility. Once the different vision vehicles have been unveiled at the various exhibition stops around the world, those vehicles will take their place within the appropriate brand space as a highlight of that particular exhibit.

“Iconic Impulses. The BMW Group Future Experience”: Dates and BMW Group vision vehicle premieres

Beijing (5-15 May) – Asia premiere of the BMW VISION NEXT 100

London (16-26 June) – World premiere of MINI and Rolls-Royce vision vehicles

Los Angeles (11-16 October) – World premiere of BMW Motorrad vision vehicle

 If you have any queries, please contact:

Corporate Communications

Christine Graeber, Business and Finance Communications, christine.graeber@bmwgroup.com

Telephone: +49 89 382-59355, Fax +49 89 382-24418

Nikolai Glies, Head of Business and Finance Communications, nikolai.glies@bmwgroup.com

Telephone: +49 89 382-24544, Fax: +49 89 382-24418

Internet: www.press.bmwgroup.com

E-Mail: presse@bmw.de

The BMW Group

With its three brands BMW, MINI and Rolls-Royce, the BMW Group is the world’s leading premium manufacturer of automobiles and motorcycles and also provides premium financial and mobility services. As a global company, the BMW Group operates 30 production and assembly facilities in 14 countries and has a global sales network in more than 140 countries.

In 2015, the BMW Group sold approximately 2.247 million cars and nearly 137,000 motorcycles worldwide. The profit before tax for the financial year 2015 was approximately € 9.22 billion on revenues amounting to € 92.18 billion. As of 31 December 2015, the BMW Group had a workforce of 122,244 employees.

The success of the BMW Group has always been based on long-term thinking and responsible action. The company has therefore established ecological and social sustainability throughout the value chain, comprehensive product responsibility and a clear commitment to conserving resources as an integral part of its strategy.

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