The mystery surrounding “Dee” was finally revealed when BMW introduced the car Ddigital emotional eexperience in Las Vegas at CES 2023. It takes a “less is more” approach when it comes to design and serves as a preview of the next-generation electric vehicle due for release in 2025. A window into the Neue Klasse platform, the concept describes a mid-size sedan featuring “design language peeled”. “We’ll probably see it three years from now at the i3 sedan.
The three-box sedan adopts a fresh and futuristic traditional look such as the kidney grille, dual headlights and Hofmeister kink. The front-end style is reminiscent of i Vision Circle, a concept that launched in September 2021 and is photographed with i Vision Dee in one of the adjacent press images. Short overhangs highlight the packaging benefits of a dedicated EV platform, maximizing the wheelbase for a more spacious cabin.
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The conceptual EV has a clean side profile with no door handles or mirror caps along with minimalist alloy wheels painted yellow to match the body accents. The rear of the i Vision Dee is also quite unique in that its base taillights are mounted high while the bumper takes up most of the rear. Even the BMW bundle has been simplified to nothing more than white stickers.
According to the Munich-based marque, the headlights and grille come together to create a “physical icon” by combining the physical with the digital on a uniform surface that can change its appearance thanks to E Ink technology. To show that she has a human side, Dee can express moods and facial expressions and even talk to people. As part of the welcome scenario, an avatar image of the driver can be projected onto the side window.
Stepping inside, the conventional buttons and switches have been removed and there is also no sign of the iDrive controller. Instead, there’s the oddly-named BMW Mixed Reality Slider with touch-sensitive sensors on the instrument panel. This controls a large heads-up display that spans the entire width of the windshield. Five selectable modes allow drivers to choose how much content they want in the HUD.
The steering is as unconventional as the rest of the car. It has vertical spoke points and touch points (again, BMW calls them “phygital”) to control content projected onto the windshield by the expansive HUD. The windows we mentioned earlier can be dimmed to “drop reality out of the way” and make the concept interior feel more immersive.
BMW says an advanced head-up display will be implemented on production models in 2025 with the first EVs based on the Neue Klasse architecture. As a refresher, Bavarians will be launching the NE with two models in the mid-range segment, so look forward to the 3 Series Sedan and iX3. They will boast a newly developed round cell battery with 20 percent higher energy density, 30 percent increased range and 30 percent faster charging.
Additional details about the i Vision Dee will be released later this year when BMW is expected to provide some actual technical specifications. Meanwhile, we know the M division is working on a high-performance EV with quad motors, and the Neue Klasse architecture is being engineered to (eventually) accommodate solid-state batteries.
The first NE-based cars will be built at the new Debrecent plant in Hungary from 2025, with Munich following a year later. By the end of the decade, the Spartanburg, South Carolina plant will have assembled at least six electric SUVs on the new basis.
BMW head of Efficient Dynamics, Thomas Albrecht, said last year the EV would not go further than 1,000 kilometers (621 miles) because that would be excessive. Chief Technology Officer Frank Weber has promised owners will gain 30 miles (48 kilometers) of range for every minute spent recharging the battery pack. The latter will be about 20 percent lighter than current prismatic cell plants and BMW expects to halve battery-related manufacturing costs and cut CO2.2 emissions by 60 percent during the manufacturing process.
