BMW scored a trio of wins at this year’s Auto Express Awards with the BMW 2 Series Coupe, BMW 5 Series and BMW i4 all recognised as the industry’s best.
The Auto Express Awards aim to inform car buyers about the best cars on the market. Their readers are at the heart of the awards, with the editorial team focusing relentlessly on their priorities, using digital tools and insight to influence the decision-making process.
Crowned ‘Best Coupé’, the BMW 2 Series Coupé was praised for both its style and substance with Editor-in-Chief Steve Fowler, commenting, “If you’re after a coupé with beauty and brains, look no further than the hugely talented 2 Series. With meaty steering, a traditional rear-wheel drive layout and relatively compact dimensions, even the entry-level 220i and 220d versions encourage you to seek out twisty back roads. In the flagship M240i, the combination of four-wheel drive, cast iron control and a snarling 369bhp straight-six means few rivals are as fast from point-to-point.”
The BMW i4 took home ‘Best Premium Electric Car’ with the editorial team complimenting the model as an electric vehicle that doesn’t require you to compromise on driving fun; “It may sound a little odd, but the BMW i4’s standout feature of this year’s top premium EV is how much it feels like one of the firm’s combustion-engined models – and that’s high praise indeed. The i4 takes so much of BMW’s EVs expertise to deliver a smooth, silent car that packs all the brilliant dynamics we expect from the German brand. There’s a wide selection of models, but all boast a brilliant and practical cabin, plus great tech.”
Remaining at the top of its game, BMW 5 Series was awarded ‘Best Large Company Car’ with judges praising its blend of quality and cutting-edge tech – making it the perfect addition to any company car park. Steve Fowler added, “Inside, the lavish use of luxurious materials gives the cabin a true club-class feel, cementing its win as the best large company car on sale today”.
The BMW 5 Series has been a core vehicle in the BMW range since its introduction 50 years ago. The latest generation was launched in 2017 and is offered in both Saloon and Touring body styles.
BMW Group integrates Android Automotive into Operating System 8 vehicles
From March 2023, the BMW Group will be expanding its BMW Operating System 8 and integrating Android Automotive OS (AAOS) into certain models for the first time, as a second technological approach alongside the current Linux-based variant.
“We are integrating the best aspects of all worlds – that could be our own in-house developments, Open Source or commercial software products – depending on what the specific solution looks like. We make sure our customers always enjoy a unique, customised digital experience in their vehicle,” said Senior Vice-President, Connected Company and Development Technical Operations BMW Group, Stephan Durach.
The different software platforms enable the infotainment system to be individually configured. The expanded operating system can also be used in different vehicle series. Customers benefit from tailored and individual digital features and options and as in the past, the expanded BMW Operating System 8 will continue to be updated “over the air” at regular intervals with the BMW Remote Software Upgrade.
Production of the BMW i3 comes to an end
June 30 2022, marked the end of an era at the BMW Group plant in Leipzig when the last BMW i3 rolled off the production line, some eight and a half years after it was launched into the market. The i3 was a source of inspiration, a driver of innovation and a pioneer of locally emission-free driving pleasure at the BMW Group.
The BMW i3 started as an exotic specimen in the barely tapped market for electric vehicles in 2013 but developed into a classic with unmistakable charisma. The i3 will go down in the company’s history as a pioneer of sustainable mobility and with more than 250,000 units produced in Leipzig, it is the world’s most successful electric vehicle in the premium compact segment.
“The BMW i3 has great symbolic power,” says Oliver Zipse, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG. He describes the development of the BMW i3 as a prime example of the “BMW way”. This is characterised in particular by the courage to “pioneer topics, to do something different and not just follow the mainstream”. This mindset continues to endure, according to Zipse, because “even the BMW iX, which is quite surprising in its capabilities, has its origins in this corporate culture”.
The BMW i3 was a visionary technology standard-bearer from day one, and not just because of its electric drive. With its Life-Drive architecture, it also set new standards in lightweight vehicle construction. In Leipzig, innovative processes unique in the automotive industry have been established for moulding large-format car body parts from the lightweight high-tech CFRP material. Today, the BMW Group has unique expertise in the industrial use of carbon fibre in body construction and aluminium in designing chassis components.
