BMW introduced a small group of journalists to Santa Monica to mark the fiftieth anniversary of Designworks’ presence in the US, and the spotlight of the day was a roundtable with Adrian van Hooydonk, Senior Vice President of BMW Group Design, and Julia de Bono, CEO of Designworks. The dialog touched a variety of subjects, from the upcoming Neue Klasse merchandise to the strain to adapt to digital life contained in the automobile, and the way new instruments—particularly AI—are reshaping their workflows. There was additionally a brief Q&A which allowed media to ask different questions as nicely.
The Digital World Inside The Cabin
One of many first topics raised was the rising digitization of BMW interiors. With the upcoming iX3 and the broader Neue Klasse household shifting towards a cleaner, extra software-driven structure, there was hypothesis that BMW would possibly ultimately eradicate bodily buttons altogether. Van Hooydonk shut that down early.
“The automobile shouldn’t be fully switchless,” he mentioned, explaining that BMW intentionally averted a totally screen-only cockpit. “We didn’t go fully radical. There are nonetheless switches within the middle console.” He described how BMW analyzed the controls clients attain for most frequently and designed the inside round these recurring habits. A few of these controls stay bodily by necessity, whereas others seem as fastened digital parts that by no means transfer throughout the interface. De Bono added that that is in line with all of the industries Designworks serves, from aviation to farming tools. “For any human-centric design, one thing haptic—one thing that engages all senses—will all the time stay,” she mentioned, emphasizing that tactility shouldn’t be a nostalgic thought however an ergonomic one.
A Smartphone-Like Expertise?
The strain between digital familiarity and secure driving is one thing BMW has been wrestling with for years, particularly as shopper habits turns into more and more formed by smartphones. Van Hooydonk mentioned that the design staff has spent a very long time analyzing whether or not a automobile’s interface ought to behave extra like a telephone or keep its personal logic.
“Automotive corporations come from a mechanical world,” he defined. “Tech corporations come from contact and voice. 5 years in the past the query was: which logic ought to win?” The reply ultimately took form within the Panoramic Imaginative and prescient Show of the Neue Klasse. Reasonably than turning the dashboard into a large pill, BMW cut up the digital atmosphere into two zones—essential driving info straight in entrance of the driving force, and customizable widgets positioned farther to the correct. “Within the iX3, clients can configure apps like on a cellular system,” he mentioned, “however the driving atmosphere nonetheless works for you.” The aim was to acknowledge how individuals work together with know-how right now with out surrendering the readability wanted in a shifting automobile.
The Way forward for Apple Automotive Play and Android Auto
That naturally led to a query about Apple CarPlay and Android Auto, particularly as some automakers have just lately moved away from supporting them. Van Hooydonk was direct: BMW isn’t abandoning CarPlay. “We provide CarPlay,” he mentioned. “We wish clients to make use of it if they need. Half our clients have an iPhone.”
Nonetheless, he additionally made it clear that BMW desires its personal system to stay the higher alternative for understanding the automobile’s capabilities, notably in relation to electrical automobiles. “Our UI will all the time be extra related to the automobile,” he defined. “An electrical BMW is aware of your cost state and your subsequent charging level, and it guides you seamlessly.” The message wasn’t about competitors with Apple a lot as the truth that the automobile should perceive issues a telephone can not.
AI’s Position in Automotive Design
The subject that generated probably the most dialogue, and probably the most trustworthy introspection, was synthetic intelligence. BMW has already been experimenting with AI inside its design studios for greater than two years, although not within the consumer-facing means most individuals may think. Van Hooydonk made it clear that BMW isn’t counting on public generative instruments to form its merchandise.
“We don’t need ChatGPT to design our subsequent BMW,” he mentioned. “It could seize pictures from the web and blend them collectively. We’re coaching our personal AI.” De Bono defined how Designworks educated its inner fashions on the sketch types of BMW designers, a course of that took near a 12 months earlier than the system might convincingly mirror the best way particular person designers specific themselves.
“It took 9 to 12 months for the AI to essentially specific how our designers specific themselves,” she mentioned. “Now I can take a look at sketches and say, ‘That’s Hane. That’s Artwork.’”
This shift is altering how designers collaborate. Individuals who could not historically sketch full automobiles, corresponding to colour and supplies specialists, can now generate full idea proposals. Designers can leap into animated 3D scenes a lot earlier within the course of, permitting them to guage proportions, motion, and presence in a extra immersive means. Van Hooydonk famous that this sort of device, as soon as correctly built-in, might take a fraction of the time that older digital modeling workflows required. “It took us 15 years to combine early modeling instruments,” he mentioned. “AI will take three or 4.”
Shorter Improvement Cycles for Vehicles?
When requested whether or not AI will finally shorten automobile improvement cycles, van Hooydonk provided a grounded reply. Whereas design itself can transfer quicker, the majority of a automobile’s timeline—and value—comes from engineering and industrialization. “We will design a automobile rapidly already,” he mentioned. “The costly half is after design.” What he does count on is that AI will pace up lots of the engineering duties that usually sluggish initiatives down, corresponding to checking stamping feasibility or figuring out how tough it will likely be to fabricate a specific form.
“AI might analyze a form and inform you how tough it’s to fabricate,” he mentioned. “That’s the place we’ll see positive factors.”
BMW Not Keen on Retro Design
The dialog additionally touched on whether or not BMW would possibly revisit concepts from previous idea automobiles. Van Hooydonk didn’t present a lot curiosity in retracing previous design work. “I prefer to look ahead,” he mentioned. “Why return?” Nonetheless, he acknowledged that the Neue Klasse deliberately incorporates delicate references to BMW’s heritage, not as retro styling, however as a option to keep continuity throughout a serious shift in know-how and consumer expertise. “We’re introducing massive modifications with the core of our model,” he mentioned. “We wish present clients to come back alongside.”
Designing for Particular person Markets, or World Audiences?
As a result of the occasion happened in Los Angeles, the dialogue ultimately turned to U.S. market developments and the way they differ from Europe or Asia. De Bono described LA’s automobile tradition as unusually expressive, pointing to the big variety of wrapped automobiles, daring colours, and closely personalised automobiles on native roads. She famous that measurement additionally stays a robust choice within the U.S., which aligns with what BMW sees in buyer habits.
“LA automobile tradition is vivid and genuine,” she mentioned. “You see excessive designs, daring colours, wraps all over the place. Large measurement is valued right here.” She additionally highlighted the relevance of semi-automated driving within the area’s heavy site visitors, saying, “Degree 2+ makes LA site visitors enjoyable. The extra we will hand over in site visitors conditions, the higher.”
Van Hooydonk added that BMW’s groups are exploring product classes the model hasn’t historically performed in, with some concepts already in improvement. “We discovered issues price growing,” he mentioned. “That’s all I can say for now.”
The roundtable didn’t finish with a giant announcement, however with a clearer sense of how BMW’s designers are approaching the following few years. The instruments are evolving, the workflows are altering, and the merchandise will mirror that, however the general angle remained measured. It was an trustworthy take a look at a staff adjusting to new realities with out discarding the basics which have guided them to date.
