I find this highly encouraging, but after my experience being abandoned by BMW w/ software improvements less than 6 months after delivery (a management decision), I've been burned and am adopting a wait-and-see approach. Despite my vocal issues with Tesla, they are the only EV maker that has completed the paradigm shift to a largely software-driven architecture. Everyone else is struggling. Even Rivian and Lucid—who I hold in high esteem—are having trouble.
What BMW also needs to do is give the driver some credit. Stop with these region-specific locks and limitations on features that have no justifiable basis. Like not allowing personalization of the "personal mode", not allowing default startup drive modes (Tesla has no issue making chill/sport mode sticky), not allowing remote close of trunk in the US and Canada, not allowing traffic light recognition in the US, and allowing significant new features to be added only to new model years.
I want the car to set me free, not lock me down. I would respond positively to BMW announcing that it is reducing headcount in its legal department!
I want to see BMW commit to keeping older vehicle software current for as long as possible and make a specific statement that they will continue to evolve existing owners' software by adding features that were not available on the day of purchase. This is one of the aspects of Tesla ownership that is delightful. There was a time when Tesla updates broke things, but most of that is in the rear-view mirror.
I am somewhat concerned with the statement that the car has 4 "supercomputer" chips. Why does it need four? Unless it's for Level 3 driving redundancy, this seems needlessly complex and gives me some pause. I want more transparency wrt what chipset is being used to drive the graphics and infotainment. I'd love to see a name like Nvidia, and not some "custom" SOC that nobody has ever heard of.
The other question I have is whether BMW's ADAS is rolled in-house or if it's based on Mobileye. Rivian and others are moving away from Mobileye and it would be nice for BMW to not be entirely dependent on one company for its driver assistance feature set.
@NomoTesla
I feel they are being overconfident, and even unrealistic, in managing expectations. I don't think any brand new software on the market (in any sector) is completely free of bugs and issues, yet they seem to proclaiming they will have no bugs and issues. That for me is a potential red flag, that I may want to wait until March 2026 and see once the first customers get their cars and drive them in the real world for a while, how reliable the software actually is (I appreciate that US iX3s won't get delivered until later in 2026)
Regarding SDVs, Xpeng and Nio in China are already producing SDVs, and having tested the software at IAA last week of both Xpeng and Nio cars, and this week with a BYD car, I was blown away by how superior the touchscreens, software and voice control felt compared to any European car I've tried out, including my own iX. Walking around and talking to the Chinese suppliers involved in SDVs was eye opening at how far ahead they seem to be.
I'm not sure how much you've read about NK and the new brains of the car, but it seems to be much more advantageous to the driver than the way their current EVs are controlled, and rather than being more complex, they have worked on reducing the complexity of the stuff that controls the car's functions.
This article that I posted from was useful to look at;
"For these software-defined vehicles, four so-called Superbrains will sense their surroundings, monitor drivers, and respond to their commands. These four big brains amass 20 times as much computing power as BMW’s current-generation EVs.
The Heart of Joy combines all powertrain, chassis, and braking functions into a single unit. Predictive algorithms operate on a high-speed bus at 1,000 'beats' per second, 10 times as fast as before.
'This heart beats very fast, so it makes the car feel alive and agile,' Thalmeier says. 'It makes a fairly heavy car handle lightly, something you’ll feel not only under high g-forces, but in normal driving.'
These new EVs use electric motors themselves to influence the car’s handling, stability, and braking behavior. The iX3 not only regenerates 40 percent more electricity than before;
BMW estimates that 98 percent of all stops in real-world driving can be handled by the electric motors, with no need for drivers to squeeze the brake pedal. The automaker says iX3 test passengers, after closing their eyes, often can’t tell that the BMW has come to a full stop, with the system delivering precision and smoothness that human drivers can’t match. Brake wear is reduced as well.
Thalmeier offered the example of a driver making a high-speed emergency lane change, followed by a sharp return to the original lane to avoid a collision.
It’s a notorious tricky move that, even for relatively skilled drivers, could result in a treacherous loss of control.
Between the combined speed of electric motors and computing, the iX3 can divert torque to the rear axle while the driver has barely begun to crank the wheel to avoid a car or obstacle ahead, setting up what’s to come. The car then automatically performs brake interventions at individual wheels and shifts torque to front wheels to maintain control as the car snaps back into its lane. The result is a pro-level maneuver that could avoid a serious collision between two or more cars—and something that would be impossible in any fossil-fueled car.
The iX3’s
second Superbrain combines the latest generation of semi-automonous driving systems in a single unit (versus four previously).
A third controller manages the infotainment operating system, including AI-supported cloud-based functions, a 3D heads-up display, and a world-first system called Panoramic iDrive, in which driving information is projected onto a black nano-coated surface that stripes the entire lower windshield.
Finally,
a fourth controller manages basic onboard operations such as vehicle access and security and remote-software upgrades.
Like other legacy automakers,
BMW is taking new cues from vertically integrated Chinese powerhouses such as BYD, which sources and develops raw materials, software, batteries, and other tech in-house. BMW executives said today’s key is to separate vehicle and software development to future-proof cars, including via over-the-air updates.
'
This means we continuously develop software rather than starting from scratch' with each new model, says Christoph Grote, senior vice-president of BMW Group electronics and software.
BMW’s global teams are generating 130 times as much software as a decade ago. Roughly 10,000 developers are tasked with more than 1,000 software modules, 20 gigabits of software, and 500 million lines of code that will be integrated into the Superbrains and overall architecture. Stable software platforms run on the Superbrains, with a 'Shared Service Layer' acting as a connecting 'middleware' element whose functions include cybersecurity and flexible over-the-air updates.
The digital nervous system allows a radically simplified wiring harness, eliminating 600 m of wiring for a 30 percent weight savings. The brains and their high-speed data connections link with smaller 'zonal controllers' that manage data flows exclusively in their zones."
