BMW wants customers to keep their eyes on the dashboard instead of their smartphones.
The luxury-car maker is pushing back against tech competitors with a digital helper that allows drivers to locate a nearby restaurant with available tables, to book seats and to find the best route there. The cloud-based BMW Connected service, which will include applications such as home-heating remote control, will be available in the next few months, Dieter May, head of the manufacturer’s digital services and business models unit, said Monday.
Carmakers are under pressure to develop digital features to retain customers as companies such as Apple and Google consider entering the automotive industry with connected vehicles. BMW AG and competitors Audi AG and Daimler AG jointly bought Nokia Oyj’s HERE navigation business last year.
Mobile communications present a new business opportunity for the auto industry, with revenue from data streams and connectivity components estimated at a $196 billion market by 2020, McKinsey & Co. said last year.
