BMW Superbrain Goes After Tesla and Ford

"The two features BMW is counting on, according to the Financial Times, are that the vehicles have 20 times more computing power than other vehicles in the world. Somehow, this "cuts the complexity of the cars' electronics," the paper reports. The BMWs actually have four new superbrains. One runs the communication within the vehicle. Another runs infotainment features. The last two improve automated driving."

"The most attractive part of the BMW upgrade technology may be that the new cars can go 500 miles on a charge. That puts it at the far end of the distance an EV can go with a single charge. BMW also claims its cars can go over 200 miles on a single 10-minute charge. EVs have struggled to convince customers that their cars can have ranges that match those of gasoline-powered cars"

"The challenge for BMW and its competition, from legacy car companies like Ford and EV companies led by Tesla, is will the driver care about technology that does not have a revolutionary set of features? Tesla is investing in upgraded self-driving tech that allows its cars to be driven without human assistance in any way. Ford and other legacy car companies have invested tens of billions of dollars to be in the sector"

BMW has invested billions to shift to an 'all software' electric vehicle architecture centered on powerful onboard computing. The vehicles contain roughly twenty times the computing power of typical cars and incorporate four distinct 'superbrains' handling vehicle communication, infotainment, and two domains of automated driving. The EVs target long-range and fast-charging performance with claims of about 500 miles per charge and over 200 miles of range from a 10-minute charge. The same software features will extend to gasoline and hybrid models. The rollout positions BMW against Tesla, Ford, and Chinese EV makers, while the market question is whether drivers will value incremental technology without transformative self-driving capabilities.

Read at 24/7 Wall St.