BMW: joy of driving will survive autonomous car era
BMW will ensure its cars remain fun and engaging to drive, even if they don’t always need a driver
News
by Felix Page
4 mins read
28 April 2025
Share
BMW has promised the “joy of driving” will never go away and it will continue to invest in dynamic “fun and capability” in future models, in parallel to the development of advanced self-driving technologies.
The company was at the Shanghai motor show in China last week to show off its outlandish Vision Driving Experience prototype – a quad-motor super-saloon concept that showcases the capabilities of the new ‘Heart of Joy’ power management system that will be used in its upcoming electric cars.
The radical demonstrator, evolved from the Vision Neue Klasse concept that previews the next 3 Series, is described as “the fastest test bench in the world”.
Related articles
- First pictures of electric BMW M3, due in 2028
- BMW iM3 trademark hints at name for ‘crazy’ electric M3
- 2023 BMW M3 CS: track-ready saloon is most powerful M3 yet
- Autocar Awards 2023: Exquisite M3 Touring is our Best Dream Car
- Dates revealed for 30th Goodwood Festival of Speed
With a brutal 13,269lb ft of torque and up to 1200kg of downforce, the VDE is designed not just for lightning-fast acceleration times and ultra-quick cornering but to challenge “the limits of driving physics” – as demonstrated by a demo run straight up a 55deg ramp at the show.
It’s all part of a drive to demonstrate that “driving fun and capability will become more important than in the past”, according to BMW product boss Bernd Körber.
He was speaking to Autocar on the sidelines of the Shanghai show, where a prevailing theme among the manufacturers in attendance was the evolution of self-driving technology and the increasing automation of mobility in general.
Volkswagen, for example, revealed a new driver assistance system capable of ‘level-two-plus-plus’ automated functions on motorways and urban streets, while tech giant Huawei showed off a level-three system that it says will be fitted to nearly four million cars this year.
Latest Reviews
Renault 4
Land Rover Discovery Sport
7
Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid and Turbo S E-Hybrid
10
Porsche Panamera Turbo E-Hybrid and Turbo S E-Hybrid
Toyota Prius
8
Genesis Electrified G80
7
Back to top
Geely brand Zeekr, meanwhile, demonstrated that its 007 shooting brake is now capable of driving itself into precisely the right position so that a robotic charger can plug it in and charge, with no human input needed at any stage.
Despite Chinese regulators announcing a clampdown on exaggerated and misleading marketing claims about autonomous vehicles, it remains a key battleground for the industry, and the Shanghai show was evidence that it’s a primary area of investment for most leading manufacturers – so BMW’s focus on driver engagement provided a stark contrast.
Körber concurred: “While everyone is looking towards automation, why do we focus on driving?” But he said it’s important for BMW to demonstrate that it remains committed to its core values and its heritage as a maker of engaging driver’s cars – an attribute that he believes the company can continue to lean on. “My prediction is that the relevance of driving will actually increase in parallel to the relevance of higher automated driving.”
This is because, Körber suggested, as cars become ever more ‘intelligent’ and the need for human inputs is less critical to the process of travelling from A to B, drivers will have to actively decide when to take the wheel themselves, and that means they need incentivising to do so.
Back to top
“I truly believe that there will be situations and use cases where, even already, it’s not fun to drive: in a city, queues, commuting,” said Körber. “And then people will in other areas and use cases make a conscious decision to actively drive. They will do that consciously. With a conscious decision to drive, [engaging vehicle dynamics] will become more important.”
“My prediction is we will see parallel development: ADAS and automated driving will become more important and in parallel driving fun and capability will also become more important than in the past.”
Körber cited the increasing popularity in China of riding motorbikes on country roads at the weekend, rather than just for city commuting, as evidence of the growing appreciation of using vehicles as a recreational activity.
“So why should everything move towards the car being just a robotaxi in the end? You make a high investment into a highly emotional car and then you just use it in a passive mode. For me, that doesn’t make any sense.”
He continued: “The joy of driving, I don’t see that going away. I see that increasing, and I see that as highly relevant for BMW.
“We don’t address 100% of the market; we address a certain target group, and for them we would like to stay true to ourselves as BMW.
Back to top
“The worst that we could do is to say we follow every trend and we do every feature. That would not be BMW any more.”
Körber’s commitment to driver engagement was backed by BMW Group design boss Adrian van Hooydonk, who told Autocar that even if future models are capable of advanced autonomy, “we want our customers always to be in control”.
“We want them to decide when they want to drive or when the car should drive autonomously, and in the case of the Neue Klasse, that new intelligence actually has also led to this new control unit [the Heart of Joy] that will improve the handling characteristics of the car.”
The first car to be fitted with this new controller will be the next-generation iX3, which will be revealed at the Munich motor show in September.