After the Munich Feast, BMW's Era Is Thus Divided

"This year's Munich Motor Show marks a milestone moment for BMW." The 2025 Munich Motor Show (IAA MOBILITY 2025) is still in the preheating stage, yet several foreign media outlets have already reported extensively on the BMW Group.

Munich, located in Bavaria, Germany, is home to the headquarters of the BMW Group. On the eve of Europe’s most important automotive event, this city has witnessed BMW’s most profound transformation. Marked by this year’s Munich Motor Show, the BMW Group is ushering in a brand new era.

On September 5th local time, the new generation BMW iX3 made its global debut in Munich, becoming the focus from the start. The BMW iX3 carries the grand chapter of BMW's new generation and is an important move for the BMW Group towards the future. Whether in terms of artificial intelligence, assisted driving, battery technology, or design philosophy, all have been elevated to a new level.

Reshaping the new benchmark for electric luxury, the Neue Klasse is the most forward-looking strategic project in BMW’s history, and its importance speaks for itself. The BMW Group attaches great importance to the debut of the new-generation BMW iX3. This landmark event, which is crucial to the company’s transformation towards the “new four modernizations” and the reshaping of its brand image, was scheduled ahead of the Munich Auto Show, rather than on the traditional media day after the show opened.

Starting with the new-generation BMW iX3, BMW will launch an unprecedented and powerful product offensive. By 2027, BMW Group will introduce over 40 all-new models to the global market. Based on deep insights and understanding of the Chinese market, a China-exclusive version of the new-generation BMW iX3 will also be launched soon, marking a substantial and crucial step in BMW’s “In China, For China” strategy.

01Luxury experience completely redefined.

“It's Europe vs China.”

Reuters' front-page news set the tone for this year's Munich Auto Show. Indeed, looking back, this was the most "explosive" German auto show ever. China and Europe, East and West, two camps, two forces, have never clashed so intensely on German soil.

In fact, not only did BMW choose to release the new generation BMW iX3 model ahead of schedule, but its German rival Mercedes also attached unprecedented importance by globally debuting the all-electric GLC in Munich.

Undoubtedly, the new generation BMW iX3 is a pioneering product for BMW during a critical transition period. As a milestone in BMW's electrification and intelligent transformation, this model integrates the century-old manufacturing philosophy of the BMW Group, a deep understanding of the new era market, core technology applications that directly address user needs, and forward-looking technological innovations for the future.

A comprehensive revolution in the joy of intelligent driving.

At the press conference, this was the phrase most emphasized by BMW Group Chairman Oliver Zipse. Supporting the comprehensive transformation of intelligent driving pleasure in the new generation BMW iX3 are breakthrough innovative technologies such as a brand-new intelligent electronic and electrical architecture, BMW’s pioneering Panoramic iDrive, the BMW Super Driving Control Brain, and large cylindrical batteries. These innovations lay the foundation for the core label of "driving pleasure" in BMW’s new generation models.

Based on the new-generation electronic and electrical architecture, the new-generation models are equipped with four "super brains," each responsible for running software platforms for the vehicle's infotainment system, driving assistance system, driving dynamics control system, and the core functions of vehicle access, air conditioning, and comfort experience. Additionally, a "shared service layer" acts as a connecting link, providing network security protection and flexible OTA upgrades.

It is responsible for running BMW's pioneering panoramic iDrive super brain, working in coordination with the next-generation operating system X to jointly create a brand-new experience for BMW's hypersensory intelligent cockpit. It oversees and coordinates the industry-first horizon panoramic display, the all-new 3D head-up display, and the hypersensory central control content, while integrating voice interaction, entertainment, and navigation functions.

The BMW Driving Control Super Brain (Heart of Joy) achieves for the first time a deep integration of the powertrain system with driving dynamics functions, with a response delay of less than 1 millisecond and an information processing speed 10 times faster than previous systems. This high-performance control unit manages driving, braking, energy recovery, and steering functions, and for the first time, it is equipped with the fully self-developed BMW Dynamic Performance Control system in the new generation of pure electric models.

Based on an all-new platform with comprehensive intelligent configurations, BMW Group has invested more effort than ever before into the new generation BMW iX3. The official launch of the new generation model signifies that BMW Group is truly entering the era of intelligence, rebuilding its competitiveness in the new energy era, and the real knockout competition among luxury cars will officially commence.

As the helmsman Zipse has always emphasized:

"The new generation model is not just a new car, but a complete product iteration that marks the beginning of the next generation of BMW's new product lineup. The goal of the new generation is not just a one-dimensional technological upgrade; standing at the crossroads of electrification and intelligent transformation, it is a comprehensive reshaping of the luxury experience."

How important is the new generation really?

At the media communication meeting of the Munich Auto Show, Zipse expressed the innovative significance of the new era models, which inherit and carry forward, through a historical comparison.

In the 1960s, BMW stood at a crossroads and resolutely launched the "Neue Klasse" project, redefining brand value from scratch, ultimately reversing its decline and regaining a place among the top tier of global luxury car brands. Sixty years later, BMW finds itself at another crossroads, with the window for transformation in the new four modernization (new four areas of innovation) rapidly closing. The group has taken a crucial leap under the name "New Generation," adjusting its direction to launch a counterattack in the fields of electrification and intelligence.

More importantly, BMW continues to innovate while maintaining its traditions.

The new generation BMW iX3 closely follows the design of the new generation X concept car, with a design core that is simple and concise, integrating technological aesthetics while remaining true to the joy of driving. Based on these principles, the new generation BMW iX3 overturns the "inertia" thinking of current car design and captures the core needs of users in the intelligent era, with a design language that is highly modern, futuristic, and highly refined.

Ho Yitonke, Senior Vice President of Design at BMW Group, also stated at the media communication meeting that in the design of the new generation BMW iX3, the BMW DNA is presented in a purer and clearer way. It can be said that it is more BMW than ever before. In the future, BMW models will gradually adopt a brand-new design language.

02"China is the decisive battleground"

At the Munich Motor Show, Chairman Zipse mentioned China multiple times.

In his view, China has become the decisive arena for the global automotive industry's technology competition, particularly in the field of artificial intelligence innovation. BMW will launch a new generation of the long-wheelbase BMW iX3 in China in 2026, which is the most "localized" BMW model to date. It not only meets the practical needs of Chinese consumers but also sends a strong signal of BMW's long-term commitment to the Chinese market.

In Zipse's view, China is the source of many technological innovations in terms of automotive intelligence and electrification. From the perspective of the global automotive industry, the combination of German engineering capabilities with Chinese parts supply and global brand building will form a whole new synergy. In fact, the new generation BMW iX3 is a typical example of this "global technology" and "Chinese customization" combination. The strategy of "BMW being very Chinese" will set off once again.

One of the advantages is China's supply chain.

BMW has been deeply engaged in the Chinese market for over 30 years, with its largest global production base located in Shenyang. It also has four major innovation hubs in Beijing, Shanghai, Shenyang, and Nanjing. In China, BMW has the largest industrial layout outside of Germany. Since 2010, the group has invested a total of up to 116 billion yuan in the Shenyang base.

Chairman Zipse also stated in an interview at the Munich Motor Show that the new generation of models could not be completed without the support of Chinese suppliers. "The Chinese supply chain system, engineering capabilities, and digitalization process provide vitality for BMW's global research and development and manufacturing. BMW attaches great importance to the Chinese market and highly values the capabilities of Chinese suppliers and manufacturers."

The new generation BMW iX3 long-wheelbase version is reported to have an unprecedentedly high "Chinese content," and the battery cell suppliers for BMW's new generation models are China's Eve Energy and CATL. By the end of 2024, the Shenyang production base will have already started trial production of large cylindrical battery packs.

The second advantage is the empowerment through intelligence.

Last year, BMW Group pressed the "fast-forward button" on co-creation with Chinese technology companies. The China version of the iX3, set to begin production next year, will deeply integrate cutting-edge technological achievements from companies like Alibaba, DeepSeek, and Momenta.

The all-new BMW New Generation Operating System X, tailored for China, integrates into the local digital ecosystem and optimizes the high-frequency interaction experience for Chinese users in commonly used scenarios.

In addition, the BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant has also been fully upgraded. The new generation BMW iX3 China Exclusive Edition will adopt the BMW custom large language model technology jointly developed with Alibaba and introduce AI agents into the cabin. Its core capabilities include human-like communication, multi-agent collaboration, and open ecosystem integration, enabling precise intent capture, complex command analysis, vague semantic understanding, and rigorous logical reasoning.

In terms of driving assistance, BMW has partnered with Momenta to jointly develop an assisted driving solution highly adapted to Chinese road environments and driving behaviors. The functionality covers highways and urban roads, achieving full-scenario, point-to-point navigation assistance driving. This system is based on an AI large-model-driven "perception-planning-control" integrated architecture, capable of understanding complex road conditions and making decisions like a human driver.

At this year's Munich Auto Show, Chinese companies were more active than ever before, while traditional European automakers, represented by BMW, took a crucial step in their transition to electrification and intelligence with the most aggressive and determined approach.

Betting the "entire fortune," integrating a century of automotive expertise, and infusing it with the innovative genes and revolutionary spirit of the new era, BMW has boldly declared war on its Eastern rivals. From now on, a new era of BMW electrification has commenced, and China is an indispensable force in this process.