BMW Exec Says Younger Generation Is To Blame For Screens Everywhere
If you're like us, you loathe controls being buried in touchscreens.
Not only is it less engaging than using actual physical buttons or knobs, but it's more distracting and requires more time with eyes spent off the road than with hard, permanent controls. The industry is finally starting to switch back to buttons and knobs, but BMW is standing strong with its dependence on screens in the cabin, and it blames young people for this trend.
Look, the fact that we even have to use the word "blame" when discussing the dominance of screens in modern BMW interiors is a crime in and of itself. Auto enthusiasts and journalists have long lamented the disappearance of buttons and knobs to control vital cabin functions, but automakers leaned the opposite way. One big screen is less expensive to produce than a bunch of other individual pieces, after all.
BMW unfortunately followed this trend, and its latest bout of vehicles is as screen-prevalent as anything out there. That's not necessarily for the better, and though sales are priority one, they don't love the trajectory. Their CEO of BMW Group Australia recently told CarExpert,
“We can see that voice and touch are becoming more and more common[...] Maybe it’s a generational thing as well. You would see that a lot of the younger generation, maybe 45 or below, they’re tapped into these technologies at a faster pace, using voice, using touch. [...] They want things done quickly, and they’re multitasking [...] And we have to keep that in mind. That’s how customers are evolving. They are multitasking.”
Pawah went on to say, “I think you need to understand why that change is happening, and once you understand that it’s easier to comprehend what will happen in the future as well [...] A car is not a stand-alone piece. It’s part of what’s happening around you in society.”
Take that as you will.
BMW's movement towards screens was allegedly a move in the name of chasing younger buyers, not necessarily larger profit margins. But isn't it two in the same?
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Based in Connecticut, Ross hosts The Hooniverse Podcast. He has been in the off-road world since he was a kid riding in the back of his dad’s YJ Wrangler. He works in marketing by day and in his free time contributes to Hooniverse, AutoGuide, and ATV.com, and in the past has contributed to UTV Driver, ATV Rider, and Everyday Driver. Ross drives a 2018 Lexus GX460 that is an ongoing build project featured on multiple websites and the podcast.
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Much as I hate the government being involved in anything, it is long past time that that these screens and many of these collision avoidance systems are recognized as a hazard themselves. Totally agree on the comment about the replacement cost of many of these wonderful tech items. Insurance companies love them because it gives them cover to raise rates. They are limited by state insurance companies to certain percentage as a profit. Higher repair costs equal more profit (same applies to health insurance). Would you rather earn 10% on $100,000 or 10% on one million dollars?
Blaming young people, who generally aren't driving cars as older generations and are not financially solvent to afford a BMW, is an easy and convenient scapegoat for BMW to go after.