BMW i Vision Dee | CES 2023

Meet BMW's advertisement for its Neue Klasse next-generation vehicle architecture and its vision of comprehensive digital control. This is the BMW i Vision Dee concept, a midsize sedan introduced tonight at the Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. "Dee" is an acronym for Digital Emotional Experience — the subject of the social media takeover starring Arnold Schwarzenegger, David Hasselhoff, and K.I.T.T. But let's start with the vehicle itself.

As for the design — and we're not saying this to be mean — if you rendered BMW's trademark flourishes into a vehicle from the first Midnight Club game in 2000 before the cars were licensed, you'd have a good basis for explaining to someone what the i Vision Dee looks like. BMW practically said so itself about the sheetmetal, calling this a "new and pared-down design language." Putting the brand's fans on notice, design chief Adrian van Hooydonk said the automaker will be simplifying the visual language of its current lineup — and so quickly that BMW's entire range will be revamped in the next three years. It's hard to tell if that's good news.

Video Transcript

- This is the BMW i Vision Dee concept, a midsize sedan introduced at the 2023 Consumer Electronics Show in Las Vegas. Dee is an acronym for Digital Emotional Experience, but it also serves as the humanlike name for the supposedly self-aware talking car. BMW will redesign its whole lineup over the next three years, and the i Vision Dee is a glimpse of what the future will look like. The automaker says it will be simplifying the visual language of its current lineup.

Also showcased was BMW's new E Ink technology. Color E Ink, an evolution of e-paper, was applied to the i Vision Dee. Up to 32 colors can be displayed on 240 E Ink segments, each segment individually controlled. With E Ink, you wouldn't have to worry about the color you wanted not being available when you purchase your vehicle. Or you could change the car's color depending on who's driving.

With its new architecture, BMW aims to bring humans and machines closer together starting in 2025. Dee and the full-width heads-up display will come with it, part of the future of the BMW Group being electric, circular, and digital. Circular, by the way, basically means sustainable. It also sounds like E Ink is going to get a small part somewhere, but that wasn't mentioned. We'll be paying very close attention between now and then to understand what we'll face when Dee and that new range of pared-down vehicles arrive.