- 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 RD 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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