Interview with Huo Aitongke, Senior Vice President of Design of BMW Group, on the concept of sustainable anchoring cycle.

Easy Car News 2021September 6, Munich, Germany/Beijing International Aut

Interview with Huo Aitongke, Senior Vice President of Design of BMW Group, on the concept of sustainable anchoring cycle.

Easy Car News 2021September 6, Munich, Germany/Beijing International Automobile and Intelligent Travel Expo (IAA), the BMW i cycle concept car was launched in the world. We had the honor to interview Mr. Hoetonke, Senior Vice President of Design of BMW Group.

As the first IAA exhibition held in Munich, the hometown of BMW Group, the brand-new concept car brought by BMW Group is full of sincerity. Bmw I? The car model is based on the principle of circular economy. In its whole life cycle, it will realize 65,438+000% recyclable materials and 65,438+000% recyclable materials, which is another promotion of BMW Group's vision of "the greenest electric vehicle".

With the appearance of the BMW i cycle concept car, Mr. Etonk, senior vice president of design of BMW Group, said that the new car follows the principle of "rethinking, streamlining, reusing and recycling", which is the perfect embodiment of the BMW Group's circular economy concept, and this will also be a brand-new idea for the company's future route and even the development direction of the automobile industry.

Since 20 18, BMW Group has launched the strongest product offensive in history. In 2020, it topped the luxury car market in China with an annual sales volume of more than 777,000 vehicles, setting the best sales record since it entered the China market from 65,438 to 0994. Regarding the China market, Mr Hoetonke said that China has perfect infrastructure and huge market scale advantages, especially the rapid development of new infrastructure and modern smart city construction, which will strongly promote the upgrading of automobile consumption and realize the important market of intelligent and electrified automobiles. BWM Group will continue to increase R&D investment in China market.

The pure electric BMW iX and BMW i4, which have attracted much attention, were unveiled at this exhibition. With the gradual growth of BWM i brand product matrix, we can see that the I family combines the latest research and development achievements of BMW Group in strategic innovation fields such as design, electrification, interconnection technology, autonomous driving and service, and also shows BMW Group's vision and practice for future travel.

In this regard, Mr. Hoetonk said that the changes in the world we live in are amazing and BMW Group hopes to make more contributions to the world. That year coincided with the establishment of BMW I brand. The successive launch of i3 and i8 models made BMW a pioneer, which not only brought brand-new design to the brand, but also realized technological innovation.

Now we are building a new generation of I brand design, and the innovative BMW iX and innovative BMW i4 exhibited this time are good examples. In the future, we will combine sustainable development with a brand-new and passionate design aesthetics and implement a brand-new and sustainable concept of circular economy.

The following is an interview record:

Q 1: BMW is recognized as a traditional luxury car manufacturer in China and the world. In the future, when design plays an increasingly important role, how can BMW stay ahead of the competition, especially in the field of design?

Hoetonk: Thank you for your attention. Nowadays, with the rapid development of science and technology, we need excellent engineers. From the design point of view, the speed of progress should be fast enough, so that the design idea can surpass the technology. Technology is something that everyone can master. What we should consider is what problems technology can solve for customers and what emotional needs design can meet for customers. A car is not only a collection of high technology, but also should convey emotional temperature and comfort. We hope to create a simple and warm mobile space for users, so that users can take the car as an extension of their personal space and feel the warmth brought by the car.

Q2: How many China designers are there in BMW, and how do you show China elements in BMW design?

Hortonk: Thank you very much for your question. There are many local talents in our BMW design factory in Shanghai and R&D center in Beijing. We will continue to recruit talents and attract talents from all fields to join us. There are more than 30 people in Shanghai Design Center, most of whom are local talents in China. In some respects, China's design taste is ahead of the world, and its development in this respect is also faster than that in other parts of the world. It can be said that the degree of sophistication has reached a high level.

In addition, China is also ahead of the world in digitalization and interconnection, so we are constantly expanding the team size in Beijing and Shanghai, and will continue to carry forward this advantage.

Q3: BMW put forward a new concept of circular sustainable development. How will this be consistent with BMW's consistent luxury quality?

Etonk: The BMW i Vision Circular, which was unveiled in China International Import Expo(CIIE) this time, embodies the idea that there is no contradiction between recycling sustainability and luxury, and you can have both. This concept car 100% is made of recycled materials and renewable raw materials, and 100% can be recycled, but it can create a luxurious and high-end look and feel, which can meet the expectations of users for the BMW brand. But if we want to achieve mass production, we still need to do more research work, but we are full of confidence in this.

Q4: The innovative shape of BMW iX shows us a very different BMW. Previously, Mr. Huo Yite designed many successful fuel vehicles for BMW. Can you tell us the difference between designing a fuel car and an electric car? Besides, will there be any iconic design elements on the BMW electric car? Now, it seems that the classic slender L-shaped taillights and Hoffmeister Angle are not visible on BMW electric cars.

Hoetonk: Thank you for asking this question. 10 years ago, we started the design of electric vehicles by designing i3 and i8. This innovation not only created a new sub-brand of BMW, but also created a simple design language. Simplicity is dynamic and exciting.

The external lines of electric vehicles are more concise, and there is more room for rational use inside. For example, iX3 car body side, under the door used through the front and rear blue decorative plate. Two blue spoilers are designed on both sides of the lower part of the rear, which not only has aerodynamic function, but also can identify the identity of the electric vehicle at a glance. At this China International Import Expo(CIIE), BMW's brand-new design language was also well interpreted through innovative BMW iX and innovative BMW i4.

The great change of electric vehicle design is not only because of electrification, but also because of digitalization. In the case of the same floor space and size, electric vehicles can create more interior space, and at the same time, because of the improvement of digital level, it can drive intelligent development.

In the interior, BMW introduced Shy Tech stealth technology, which reflects its high-tech level and can meet the diverse needs of car owners; At the same time, it will not be too abrupt. Judging from the indoor atmosphere, it has become a living room, just like being in a boutique hotel or an upscale apartment. Designing an electric car gives us an opportunity to make our car more modern, warm and humanized.

Q5: It is surprising to hear that you have been the chief designer of BMW since 2004. /kloc-in the past 0/7 years, what changes do you think have taken place in the concept of automobile design, what challenges are there in the future, and how to deal with innovation in inheritance?

Hoytonk: It happened that BMW founded the I brand, which was also a major project I took over after I took office, including i3 and i8. This was also one of my key tasks at that time, and I also had to design a new language for the new brand. Technological changes are also accelerating, which also requires the design work to shift gears faster. In the future, a new generation of I brand design will be created. The innovative BMW iX and the innovative BMW i4 exhibited this time are good examples.

Now, we have begun a major challenge, that is, circular design. How to combine sustainable development with a brand-new and passionate design aesthetics is a very challenging thing.

In addition, in the past ten years, we have also observed that the screen in the car is getting bigger and bigger, and the interaction between people and the car has changed a lot, which is actually our concern. How to build a car that can not only convey driving pleasure, but also realize automatic driving one day?

In the autonomous driving environment, it is still necessary for the driver to feel that the road ahead is under control, and there will not be too much information, that is, the right content will be presented at the right time. This matter has really been studied for many years, and we will continue to work hard in this regard in the next few years.

Q6: It is understood that Tesla's design team has recruited many talents who have worked in the game industry, because they believe that these people can better meet the needs of customers from a design perspective in the new digital age. What do you think of this? What are your plans in this regard?

Hoetonk: In the past few years, digital design has always been a key work of our design team, and it is also the fastest growing field. We are also conducting cross-industry recruitment, such as digital design and home screen design, which are relatively new majors; At the same time, it is also recruiting from the game industry and other industries.

Now all manufacturing industries need such diversified talents, and we can still get top talents from all over the world, especially China, to ensure the rapid iterative development of new products in the future. IX and i4 have the eighth generation human-computer interaction interface, and our design team also participated in the development of subsequent products. The development and change speed of digital design field has been faster than that of traditional design industry.

Q7: The design of the new BMW i cycle concept car combines the headlights and grille into one. Judging from the pictures and videos, the front cover can't be opened, so we are concerned whether such design features will appear in the design of future I brand and even the whole BMW family.

Hoytonk: This BMW i Vision Circular is currently in the experimental stage, and its design covers all kinds of new ideas. We also want to hear your feedback on technology and design at this stage. For example, if you ask about the front face design, technically we are trying to achieve sustainability; Another principle is "lean again", and one of lean is the number of parts. At present, there are too many parts of the whole vehicle, especially the front design, and I want to minimize some parts. This is based on the consideration of the future, and further thinking will be made in the future.

Q8: I got the news that the new generation pure electric 7 series may or may not be available. Will you see the future design direction like the 7 series luxury flagship model on the BMW i cycle concept car? Will the design of the headlights and the hood not open have some influence on its design?

Hoetonke: The 7 Series is indeed a very important model for us, and it is also a model that China customers attach great importance to. This brand flagship will be carried by BMW Group in all aspects, whether in engineering, design or other aspects. We are very satisfied with the current performance of Series 7 in China.

Today, the research product of this car in recyclability is not directly related to the 7 series. For the 7 Series, our goal is to make this car special enough to stand out from the traffic at a glance. Now this generation of 7 series design has done this, and the next generation design will be more prominent and outstanding.

Q9: About using some recyclable materials, this means using the concept of sustainable development. Many people used to think that it would cost more to buy or use recycled products. For example, the prices of some common products are relatively normal, but recycling will have additional costs and the prices will be higher.

When BMW offers a sustainable model or a renewable interior materials in the future, will it think that users need to pay extra for renewable things to enhance their sense of luxury, or will we try our best to make it a different choice? Or is it that the price of using new materials is similar, but everyone's choice is different?

Hoetonk: Thank you for asking such a good question. In fact, the cost of research and development, promotion and mass production of a new product is often high, whether it is to promote a new screen, computer or battery, it is the same. Recycling materials will do the same, but we still stick to this direction.

At BMW, we firmly believe that the decisions made today will affect the lives of future generations. Therefore, we are constantly committed to contributing to the goal of reducing emissions 1.5 degrees Celsius in the Paris Climate Agreement, and regard circular economy as a part of the company's strategy and product design concept, which is the focus of all our work.

How to balance sustainability and luxury and how to control costs have always been our main concern. We adhere to the route of sustainable and circular economy, without sacrificing the environment, the pure driving pleasure and luxurious texture of BMW, and the interests of users. For users, BMW is always trustworthy.