BMW used its CES 2023 keynote address to reveal the i Vision Dee EV concept car. The Dee, which stands for Digital Emotional Experience, is meant to address one of the three pillars BMW says are integral to the future of its company: electric, circular, and digital.
It’s also a showpiece for technology, including a color-shifting E Ink digital skin that can reflect the whims of the driver as well as a Mixed Reality Slider to interact with the full-windshield head-up display (HUD). Some of it may reach BMW’s Neue Klasse (New Class) vehicles as soon as 2025.
With the Dee, what’s on the inside of this electric car is a whole lot more important than what’s on the outside. It all starts with the Mixed Reality Slider. Using a touch tool on the digital dashboard, drivers can dial in the exact amount of information they want to see on the advanced HUD. Drivers can opt for simple analog gauges or include more information such as driver-related data, detailed communications, augmented-reality projections, and all the way to full virtual worlds. Drivers can dim the windows to “fade out reality” and enter purely digital environments. BMW says this is a way to engage different senses and provide for alternative driving experiences.
The advanced BMW Head-up-Display, which is targeted for BMW’s Neue Klasse cars from 2025, features whole-screen projection. The idea is to provide as large a canvas as possible for displaying driving and other data while drivers keep their eyes on the road and hands on the wheel. The company has long provided HUD options for its cars and says it’s been working to refine the technology for more than two decades. BMW didn’t say which models will see the advanced HUD first, but you can bank on it showing up in the company’s top-tier models, such as the 7 Series and X7 range, first.
Dee is meant to be fun, too. Owners will be able to personalize their experience in the i Vision Dee, such as graphical elements, light and sound effects, natural language communications, and even facial expressions on the dual-kidney grille. The car will be able to recognize the owner as they approach and greet them with personalized experiences, such as joy, and automatically opening the door. The dual-headlights and kidney grille form a common phygital (portmanteau of physical and digital) that can change its status using E Ink tech.
Speaking of E Ink, the i Vision Dee is covered in 240 individually controlled E Ink segments that can each display up to 32 different colors. This allows the car to change its appearance with an almost infinite variety of patterns and do so within a few seconds.
As for the design of the car itself, well, BMW admits it’s reductive—and that’s the point. The company pared the design down to a minimum, while keeping its iconic design elements (twin circular headlines, kidney grille, Hofmeister kink). The digital experience is meant to come first, with the car itself serving as a “white canvas” for everything else. That may not sit well with some BMW enthusiasts.
The mixed reality offerings of the BMW i Vision Dee are why the company calls it the “ultimate companion” rather than the “ultimate driving machine.” Whether or not the latter will apply when BMW’s Neue Klasse cars start arriving in 2025 is something we’ll have to wait to see.