BMW boss predicts big infotainment screens will vanish

LAS VEGAS — Automakers are racing to wallpaper the dashboard with high-definition infotainment displays.

BMW Group boss Oliver Zipse thinks it's a mistake and believes the trend will be short-lived.

"Driver distraction is the main source of accidents — it's not fast driving," Zipse said at a media briefing at CES 2023.

Zipse said he is "absolutely convinced" that center console-based screens that require drivers to look away from the road will soon be history.

"In 10 years, that is gone," Zipse said. "Probably the regulator will not allow it."

BMW is planning for Zipse's prediction to pan out.

At CES, the automaker teased head-up display technology that projects information across the windshield.

Current head-up displays project a small field of view. Expanding the field of view can create a more immersive experience and deliver critical driving information in the driver's natural line of sight, allowing them to keep their eyes on the road.

"With our technology, everyone in the car can see the same information, even the people in the back," BMW brand design boss Domagoj Dukec told Automotive News at a media briefing in Munich late last year.

The head-up display tech will debut in BMW's next-generation Neue Klasse vehicles starting in 2025. The first two vehicles on the electric platform will be a sedan and a crossover.

People are not looking at the road when driving, distracted by smartphones or in-vehicle screens, Zipse said

"If you have to look down to operate your car, we think it's a big mistake," he said.

Zipse described Neue Klasse as a "quantum leap in terms of design, technology design and sustainability."

Stephan Durach, BMW Group's senior vice president of its connected company development unit, said technology should be an enabler, not a distraction.

"When integrating technology in the car, we think about the customer experience it creates and the problem we want to solve," Durach said at the Munich briefing. "We are opening up a new canvas to distribute the information in an even more meaningful way."

"We want to deliver the information you need at the right time to give you the perfect experience. That's what people are asking for."