Updated 07:56 AM,Jan 13,2023
BMW showcases its vision for the future of digital experiences, both inside and outside the vehicle, at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show (CES) in Las Vegas. The BMW i Vision Dee is a futuristic mid-size sedan defined by a new, minimalist design language. The name “Dee” stands for Digital Emotional Experience, reflecting the car’s core mission: to create a stronger emotional connection between people and their vehicles. Future digital functions will go beyond today’s voice controls and driver assistance systems. The Head-Up-Display will span the entire windshield, offering a glimpse into the next generation of automobiles. This innovation will be available in the new NEUE KLASSE models starting in 2025.
Thanks to its intelligent and quasi-human capabilities, the BMW i Vision Dee can accompany drivers through real-life situations on the road and within digital environments.
The BMW Mixed Reality Slider system, combined with the advanced windshield display, represents the flagship digital feature of the BMW i Vision Dee and serves as the central control interface. It offers five distinct interaction levels—from analog clock faces to driving information, communication content, augmented reality projections, up to full immersion in virtual worlds. Meanwhile, dimmable windows allow the real world to gradually fade out. The hybrid reality experience in the BMW i Vision Dee delivers an immersive sensory journey without requiring any additional devices, introducing a new dimension of driving enjoyment.
BMW has long been a pioneer in windshield displays, systematically advancing this technology over the past two decades. The full-width windshield display enables information to be shown across the largest possible surface area—visible only when activated. This approach highlights the immense potential of projection technology and demonstrates how advanced windshield displays could shape future vehicle interfaces. The standard version of BMW’s Head-Up Display, spanning the entire windshield, will debut in the new NEUE KLASSE models starting in 2025.
The digital experience begins even before entering the car, featuring a personalized welcome sequence that blends graphics, lighting effects, and sound. Natural language interaction serves as the most intuitive form of human-machine communication, enabling seamless understanding between driver and vehicle. The front lights and closed-off grille act as symbols of the fusion between the physical and digital worlds on a single plane, giving the car expressive facial features. This allows the BMW i Vision Dee to visually convey emotions such as joy, surprise, or approval. Additionally, the car can display the driver’s digital avatar on the side window, personalizing the welcome experience.
BMW deliberately adopted a simplified, minimalist design for the BMW i Vision Dee to focus more intensely on the digital experience and the essence of the BMW brand. The exterior maintains the classic three-box sedan silhouette that defines BMW. At the same time, traditional design elements like the BMW grille, dual circular headlights, and signature Hofmeister kink have been reimagined, merging physical and digital icons. This fusion gives the BMW i Vision Dee its unique digital identity and quasi-human qualities.
Inside the cabin, digital integration meets minimalism in material use, control systems, and screen design, delivering a distraction-free digital experience and a renewed sense of enhanced driving pleasure. The steering wheel features a non-traditional design with a vertical central ridge that acts as touch points, responding to proximity or touch and activated by thumb movement. These physical and digital touchpoints simultaneously control content displayed on the windshield, supporting the concept of "hands on wheel, eyes on the road."
BMW’s future is electric, sustainable, and digital. The BMW i Vision Dee embodies the digital aspect of this triad and marks another milestone in the company’s journey toward the next generation of vehicles—the new NEUE KLASSE. BMW will share further details about the concept throughout 2023.
