The My BMW App and MINI App are continuously being expanded and improved, with a total of five updates carried out per year. The apps are becoming increasingly important for customers, especially when it comes to e-mobility and vehicle charging.
Decision-making tool for the shift to electric mobility: “Electric Vehicle Analysis”.
The new “Electric Vehicle Analysis” function enables customers who drive a BMW with a combustion engine to simulate the functionality of a fully electric BMW in their personal driving profile.
To carry out the simulation, the customer selects an electric BMW model as an alternative vehicle in the app. Once the combustion engine model has made at least 200 trips and travelled a distance of 2,000 kilometres, the analysis clearly shows how many trips could have been completed with the selected electric vehicle on a single charge. This is intended to combat range anxiety and concerns about the everyday practicality of fully electric vehicles that are still prevalent today.
For the simulation, the app uses the real-life driving data of the combustion engine model in question, generated by the “My Trips” function. Thanks to this individual database, the “E-Vehicle Analysis” can provide the customer with a solid basis for deciding which type of drive to choose for their next vehicle. The function will be updated in the future to expand the scope of the analysis. Assessments of the time when vehicles are not in use and long-distance journeys will be added, combined with information on charging facilities and the time required for charging. To use the “E-Vehicle Analysis”, customers must own a BMW with a combustion engine and the BMW Operating System 7 or later, and also give their consent for their driving data to be used for the purpose of the analysis.
“Electric vehicles can already be easily integrated into the daily routine of many customers, but most of them have not yet tried them,” says Dirk Wiedmann, Senior Vice President Sales and Strategy Management, Digitalisation. “Our app’s ‘E-Vehicle Analysis’ helps our customers to make an informed decision when choosing their drive system.”
New features for improved interaction between vehicle and app.
The latest update introduced a number of features designed to produce a seamless route planning experience when switching between the vehicle and the app. Options such as avoiding motorways or toll roads can now also be set in the app, and are automatically synchronised in both directions. In addition, the My BMW / MINI App with optimised route planning for electric vehicle charging now also allows individual charging stops to be added, and these are synchronised with the vehicle. The apps also notify the user of facilities close to charging stations, such as restaurants, cafés, banks and supermarkets, with detailed information about them.
The wide-ranging features in the app are continually improved and expanded, with high levels of user satisfaction.
The My BMW App and MINI App are used by 13 million users worldwide, of which one million are in Germany alone. Both apps have an average rating of 4.8 stars in the App Store.
The apps keep drivers informed about the current status of their BMW or MINI, and allow them to lock and unlock the doors, switch on the climate control, send destination addresses to the navigation system or use the Remote 3D View function to see an image of the vehicle’s immediate surroundings or its interior. They can go to the Services & Shop tab to check available digital services or get ConnectedDrive updates. If the Digital Key Plus has been set up in their BMW or MINI, previously stored manoeuvres and parking functions can be performed from outside the car while nearby.
Service and maintenance requirements can also be managed from the two apps. For example, users receive a push notification if their car needs to be serviced and can make an appointment directly in the app. The app also provides assistance during the service process, including registration, service videos, status tracking and payment. Accident and breakdown assistance can also be quickly accessed through the app.