BMW Vision New Class and Vision New Class X exhibited at the Paris Motor Show 2024

BMW brought the concept vehicles BMW Vision New Class and Vision New Class X to the Paris Motor Show. We explain what these are all about in this article.

BMW's two vision vehicles are intended to show the direction in which the manufacturer's vehicles will move in the future. Similar to the "New Class" models in the 1960s. The focus is on the digital elements of the car and how people interact with them. Another focus of these vehicles is on the topics of efficiency and sustainability.

Panoramic Vision Display

The goals and considerations for the concept vehicles led to the creation of the Panoramic Vision Display. This is a strip in the lower part of the windshield in which important information about the journey is displayed in widgets. The screen shows the current speed, what music is playing, how far it is to the destination or what the weather is like.

The strip can be individually configured and is visible to all occupants of the vehicle. In the versions of the Vision New Class and Vision New Class X exhibited at the trade fair, the display was behind a kind of mirror, so that it is not immediately visible from the outside. According to BMW, however, this is not yet the final solution for how the Panoramic Vision Display will be integrated into production vehicles.

Even though many elements of a head-up display are already visible on the new display, it will still be included. It will be responsible for things like displaying navigation instructions in 3D, which are not so relevant for passengers. In addition, the Panoramic Vision Display and the head-up display are closely linked. An upcoming speed limit, for example, is initially only visible to the driver and will only be displayed later for everyone else when it is valid.

Picture: BMW

Operating concept

When looking at the main display, you immediately notice that it is shaped like a parallelogram. The parallelogram has the advantage that elements of the user interface that are important to the driver can be placed in the top left corner, where they are easier to reach.

An interesting detail of the operating concept is that the iDrive controller had to be removed. Instead, its functions were moved to the steering wheel in a modified form and the focus is increasingly on voice input. The aim of the concept and the Panoramic Vision Display is that the driver can always have their hands on the steering wheel and their eyes on the road and determine the level of digitality themselves.

One of the few input devices in the Vision New Class: The steering wheel

efficiency and software updates

For the Vision New Class and the Vision New Class X, not only was the operating concept rethought, but internal components were also newly developed. The vehicles should charge 30 percent faster and have a 30 percent greater range. In addition, the revised battery cells have a 20 percent higher energy density.

The New Class will also have an impact on BMW's software update strategy. Since all new models will be based on the same basis from the start of production of "New Class" vehicles, it will also be possible for them all to receive the same updates. At the moment, this can still vary from model to model.

BMW Vision New Class: When will the developments go into series production?

Production of the “New Class” vehicles is set to begin in the not too distant future. “Our new plant in Debrecen, Hungary, is starting: the first X-model will roll off the production line there from the end of 2025.[…],” says Oliver Zipse, CEO of BMW.

Sources: BMW website, Interview with BMW