BMW UK is pleased to announce that from September 2015, BMW Navigation will be included as standard equipment across the range. From July onwards, the BMW 2 Series Convertible and 2 Series Active Tourer will receive navigation as a standard feature. In addition to this, the BMW Z4 range will receive BMW Professional Navigation also from July production onwards. In September going forwards the BMW 1 Series range and 2 Series Coupé will include navigation as standard.
These broad sweeping enhancements to the already high specification of BMW cars will mean that every BMW offered for sale in the UK will come with navigation as standard by the end of 2015.
BMW has a long led the way in terms of standard specification, and this latest move makes the Munich manufacturer the onlycompany to offer navigation as standard across such a broad range of market segments. When combined with some of the other standard features, such as BMW Emergency Call, DAB radio and Bluetooth with audio streaming, every BMW offers an extensive suite of advanced communication and entertainment features.
Every model in the company's range will soon come with a 6.5-inch high definition screen, iDrive controller and Traffic Message Channel. Building on this Professional Navigation adds a larger 8.8-inch screen with iDrive Touch controller, Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI) and BMW Online including BMW Remote Services, which allows drivers to send Navigation addresses directly to their vehicle via Google or the BMW My Remote app.
In addition to this news, the cost to upgrade toProfessional Navigation for the 1 and 2 Series models has been reduced. Customers of the 1 Series Sports Hatch and 2 Series Coupé and Convertible can enhance their car this way for just £900. The upgrade cost for 2 Series Active Tourer and Gran Tourer customers has also been reduced to £1,395, with this package also including the BMW Head up Display.
Jeff Knight, Forecasting Editor Cars, CAP, said: "BMW introducing navigation across its entire model range is a first for any mainstream manufacturer in the UK and will inevitably pave the way for others to follow. On-board navigation systems now offer so much more technology than previously seen with the likes of 2D & 3D navigation map displays, traffic information and particularly with BMW standard e-call functionality which is a key safety feature. As well as having standard navigation across the range all BMW models will see an improvement on their residual value from between £300 to £600 (model dependant) so this is good newsallround for the customer."
BMW ConnectedDrive in 2015
The BMW ConnectedDrive suite of technologies is vast and the key points are outlined below:
BMW Emergency Call
More commonly referred to as ‘eCall’, this provides the peace of mind that in the event of an accident your vehicle can automatically make an emergency call to the emergency services via a BMW contact centre. This can be completed manually by pressing the SOS button in the vehicle head unit. However, in the case of a more serious accident, crash sensors in the vehicle will automatically trigger an emergency call allowing an agent to establish contact with the vehicle. Vehicle details and GPS data are also transferred, pinpointing the precise location enabling the services to respond immediately.
BMW Teleservices
Teleservices provides peace of mind by the car automatically reporting important technical information to the customer’s assigned dealer e.g. service requirements or technical faults.
BMW Online services and apps
The BMW Online portal provides convenient access to web-based information to ensure that you have all the information you need along your journey.
News: World, Business, UK, Entertainment and Sports (including Premier league football results and table). With the text-to-speech function articles can be read aloud to the driver.
Weather: Five day weather forecast for current location or any destination.
Google Local Search: Online POI search from live Google data to ensure the information is up to date.
Send-to-car: Addresses and POIs can be sent to car via Google Maps ahead of journey.
App interface supports BMW Connected applications via compatible mobile device: including Spotify, Life360, Facebook, Twitter and many more. BMW Online also offers support for selected email services directly into the car, including Gmail, Yahoo, Hotmail, Live and Outlook.
Real Time Traffic Information (RTTI)
RTTI provides up-to-the-minute details on the flow of traffic and potential delays along your journey. The information is presented on the Navigation map by using a colour coding system allowing you to actively monitor how the traffic situation is changing. Road networks can be divided into distances as short as 500m for superior accuracy and dependency. The system also recommends for or against alternative routes based on the potential time saving benefits allowing you to relax in the knowledge that the most time efficient route is being taken.
Concierge service
The BMW Concierge Service provides additional convenience and support should you require location-based information e.g. addresses or phone numbers. The Customer Information Centre is available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. With the touch of a button you can have a personal conversation with an agent who can discuss a variety of enquiries and then send the required details straight down to your car. Information can then be imported into your Navigation system or you can call the relevant telephone number using your Bluetooth paired device.
Remote Services
BMW Remote Services allows you to contact and control certain features of the car remotely. Services can be performed by calling the Customer Information Centre or simply using your smartphone.
Features include:
- Remote lock/unlock
- Vehicle finder (when within 1,500m of the car)
- Headlight flash e.g. to identify vehicle at night or in large car park
- Google search and send-to-car
4G connectivity and other over the air map updates
Free of charge over-the-air map updates taking place in the background up to 4 times per year. 4G connectivity for faster downloads of applications, media via online entertainment option and map updates. Able to pass these benefits onto second owner as map updates can be purchased over-the-air after free period ends with lower cost than current Retailer updates.
Online entertainment for cars
First direct to car music streaming service in Europe. Using the built-in 3G SIM card, drivers can stream music online, directly from their BMW without the need for a smartphone or MP3 player with access to over 25 million tracks. i–Cloud-based service can be accessed on PC, tablet, smartphone and your BMW for a seamlessly connected personal music library.
Ends
