How BMW Is Redefining Its Future With the iX3: Interview

BMW started making cars in the 1920s, but it wasn’t until 1962 with the introduction of the Neue Klasse—New Class—sedan that it started making the sort of cars we’d recognize today. The 1500 and its progeny, including the legendary 2002, were well-built, premium, elegant, and sporty. They laid the groundwork for what BMW would become.

Now, there’s a new Neue Klasse, a totally new EV platform that debuts with the iX3 and features technology that will quickly spread across the lineup. With that, BMW is readying 40 new and updated models to arrive in the next two years.

Few people are better positioned to explain what BMW is doing and why it matters than Dr. Joachim Post. Post is BMW’s board member responsible for R&D, and we sat down with him for an exclusive interview at the US premiere of the iX3 last month

The iX3 is BMW’s first “software-defined vehicle” (SDV), which means that rather than using lots of individual electronic control units (ECUs) to manage vehicle functions, BMW has just four “Superbrains” that control all vehicle functions. One, the Heart of Joy, manages all dynamic functions. The iX3 also debuts BMW’s new Panoramic iDrive, with a display that spans the base of the windshield from pillar to pillar.

With the iX3, BMW is taking lessons learned not only from its years of making EVs, but its decades of making cars, period. The company is also drawing from the playbooks of startup automakers like Rivian and Tesla, while putting its own unique spin on them.

(The following conversation has been lightly edited for clarity and length.)

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW

Motor1: The iX3 is BMW's first true software-defined vehicle. How has that changed the development approach? 

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: We have a long history of making software in-house, more than 20 years, where we have really focused on IT software. What really changes when you go to a software-defined vehicle is that you must define the architecture.

You must define the hardware, and that’s when we started to say, ‘Let's make four super brains, let’s make a zonal architecture, and let's separate hardware from software.’ That’s one of the key elements you have to define. For sure, there is some low-level software that suppliers are doing for us, but what is important is that you must define the whole electronic architecture and the software architecture, and then you can define and control which parts are important to do on your own.

For example, every piece of functional software we put in the low and middleware, we do on our own. And that’s what makes the difference between driving a BMW and driving another car. But the key is really to define hard- and software architecture, which is what we did the first day we started with Neue Klasse.

We took all our past experience to say ‘This architecture, eFuses, zonal architecture, four Superbrains—one for automated driving, one for powertrain and chassis, one for basic electric functions, and one for in-vehicle infotainment and entertainment.'

BMW VDX Concept

What are some of the tangible benefits of the Heart of Joy system?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: You need to realize a lot of computing power to transfer all that data. You have time differences, time syncs; it’s better to integrate the main functions higher, as we did with the Heart of Joy.

With 20 times faster computing power in combination with an electric powertrain, you can realize, from stabilization to driving to chassis control, and to powertrain controls, a system which has a dynamic potential never seen before. If you put everything into one control unit with this speed and direct access to all the relevant sensors, and an electric motor that can react quickly, you have stabilization control never seen before.

That’s what really makes the difference with the Heart of Joy. For example, 95 percent of the braking is done by recuperation, and with the Heart of Joy, we can do recuperation down to a standstill. That’s really new.

We had an exercise for journalists in the passenger seat on a prototype drive. We told them, ‘Close your eyes and tell us when the car stops.’ They didn’t realize, because this car stops so smoothly. The stop-and-go is on a completely new level on the one hand.

And if you look at the other hand, with what we demonstrated with the VDX concept car, on the high-performance dynamics, with this computing power speed, and the control of the electric motors, it allows for driving nearly on the physical limits of grip.

2026 BMW iX3

The braking is interesting too, because that handoff between regenerative and friction braking is really challenging. I imagine that’s a big efficiency gain, using more regen?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: We mainly use the friction brakes for emergency braking only. That’s the main reason you have brakes of this size in the car. We also close the brakes at a standstill to help the clutch, because then there’s less energy consumption. But in any case, you don’t feel that.

It brings great efficiency overall to the car. The energy consumption is much lower than in the Generation 5 powertrain, and this is one of the huge benefits of Generation 6 over Generation 5.

Is it possible to have the Heart of Joy in a combustion or a hybrid car at some point?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: What we can use in every vehicle is this type of computing power, and all these controls. But because you can’t do recuperation in the same way with a combustion engine and a 48-volt system, or at least a hybrid system. The regenerative braking power isn’t on the same level.

So, some things you can realize, but some things you can't. Computing power, stabilization, and dynamics, there are a lot of functions you can carry over, but in a different way.

Why was it important to bring back the 'Neue Klasse' name? Obviously, those original sedans were the defining BMW, the reason BMW is what it is—so why bring the name back now?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: If you look at what is happening in technology, for us, it’s a new era. And of course, it’s not only one technology. We integrated a completely new Panoramic iDrive, with the panoramic display you see from pillar to pillar, we integrated a new powertrain, new, cutting-edge technology in battery and cells, the consumption, the zonal architecture, eFuses, the Heart of Joy. Everything in this car is new.

And also, the design language is new, with the interpretation of the kidneys, the lights. It’s really clean, strong styling, it feels seamless. You can see some elements of the history, but in a modern way.

Overall, it’s a major technological leap for us. And that’s why we say it’s a new era. We’re bringing this technology to all of our cars. Forty new cars and model updates in the next two years, so we have the whole fleet on this technological level.

We have a lot of AI functions in the car, but this software-defined architecture allows us to integrate more AI functions in the future. It’s why we call it a new era.

We came back to our history and said, ‘What name is better than Neue Klasse from the past?’ Because as you mentioned, it defined BMW, it defined a new era, and for us, this, what we’re doing now and for the future is a big leap. We invested about $10 billion for updates to our fleet, and to bring us to a new level and be prepared for the future.

BMW's models are typically evolutionary; with every new model year, there are slight changes. But with this, the big difference is that everything is new?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: You’ll find core BMW elements, like the kidneys and some other design elements, but a new interpretation. In any case, it has the heart, the core of the BMW brand. But, we rethought it, redefined it.

Also, the panoramic iDrive, of course you don’t have a controller like the old system, but now, you have eyes on the road, hands on the wheel, and you can control everything from the wheel. So, it’s a modern, new interpretation. That’s why we call it Panoramic iDrive, transporting elements from the past into a modern architecture for the future.

You also talk about having the computing power onboard for AI functions. I imagine that’s a big challenge?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: You’re completely right. There are some things which are important. The first is to define an architecture where software from hardware is separated in a way that you can update hardware computing power. Because the effort for making software is huge, and you cannot once, twice, three times make the whole software. You must realize a system where you have a lot of reuse, meaning making the difference between the hardware change and software change.

In any case, you have to make an estimation to say ‘How much computing power will I need in the next one, two, three, four years?’ Looking at where technology is going with AI, and how much computing power on [Silicon on Chip] is moving forward, you need to be prepared and have a prognosis on what is necessary when you configure your system. The second thing is that you must adapt more computing power without redefining the software. AI is moving very fast, and AI offers opportunities to realize functions in a car never thought of before. Therefore, it was the right decision that we set up this software-defined vehicle architecture to be now, let's say, defining the new standard. And the second thing is to always be prepared for the future without doing everything twice.

AI is a topic I’m interested in as it applies to car development. What uses have you found for it, and how is it changing the way you approach creating a car?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: We use it very intensively in software development. With large-language models, it’s very easy to make tools where it can automate software development. It has great effects on our efficiency, and also the quality of software you can make. So there, it’s natural for all our software developers in-house, and also what we have in our hubs in the US and around the world.

The second thing is in design and simulation. We’re just moving forward to develop tools and train AIs to use it in the design process. Why is it so important? We have a long history of designing good components, and if you train an AI with this history, it never loses that training.

That offers us an opportunity, with the right tools, to use AI more in more not only in software development, but also in design and components, and all the systems in a car. That will be a crucial field for the future, and that’s why we’re investing in that, taking, let’s say, steps. It offers great opportunities in speed, cost reduction, design quality, and also learning. If you look at the feasibility of an agenting AI, it can make different disciplines, and different agents can work together.

It’s amazing what is feasible there; it’s an important field.

How does going to this platform change the relationship with your suppliers? Obviously, it’s a different way of working; it’s a very different approach to the car.

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: As I explained, the one thing you must do on your own is define the architecture. If you’re not defining the architecture, you cannot guarantee that the parts, different software elements really fit together. So, you need to define the electronics, the hardware, and the software. Once you have done that, you can choose the right partners, you know how to fit the stacks in your software system and architecture.

We have a partnership with Qualcomm for autonomous driving. But in China for example, we cannot use the same stacks in China as the US because of geopolitics. There’s no chance. But with this architecture, you can take out the one stack for automated driving and you can use a stack from [Chinese ADAS developer] Momenta.

Also for example, for automated parking, we are working with Valeo, a supplier. Once you define the boundaries, you can integrate partnerships in a different way. But you must have the integration know-how, integration control, and the overall know-how. Then it will work. If you’re not doing that, it does not work.

That’s perhaps an advantage you might have over a startup car company. They can start off with a software-defined architecture, but they don’t have the experience with integrating all these different things, right?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: I think that’s a big advantage. The challenge for us, in 2020, 2021, when we were starting the Neue Klasse, was saying ‘How do we manage this, and set it up in a way that we can bring this technology into the whole fleet in a short time, independent from every powertrain, whether it’s EV, diesel, gasoline, or hybrid. Or for the future, hydrogen. And the know-how you have to put in there to run 40 new models and model updates in two years, that’s the real challenge.

It will work once you’ve defined the right architecture to do this, and you always have this strategy to be open from the powertrain side. That is one of the things that is key.

What is different between one company who is making one new car, something like this, and us, is that we have a whole fleet. It doesn’t do us any good if you only have the iX3 with the latest technology, and the rest of the fleet is old technology. That’s why we did this.

BMW M3 Competition Engine

So, what Neue Klasse technology will make its way into non-EVs?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: One of the very important things is Panoramic iDrive. You will see that in every car for the future. What we have from the zonal architecture, the powertrains, the Superbrains, the computing power, you will see in every car.

Every customer will have the choice of powertrain, but will always get a car which has the latest technology and everything you need.

Right, because you don’t want to leave anyone behind. Or make the next 3 Series very different from the i3. You want the powertrain to be the choice, not the technology.

We want to give the customer the best car, and they can decide what kind of powertrain they want. Not get a new car only if they choose an EV, an old car if they want a combustion engine.

The world is different; last year, we had the most sales of [premium] EVs, and at the same time, record high sales for eight-cylinder engines.

Is that really true?

Dr. Joachim Post, BMW: Yeah! Last year, we had our best sales of eight-cylinder engines, very popular in the US, and also in combination with a plug-in hybrid system, it’s a very C02 efficient car, a very powerful car looking at the M5.

So, technology is different, and the world is different, and whenever you give the customer the choice, the option, I think that’s crucial to be successful for the future. It depends on the charging infrastructure, the prices of electricity, the total cost of ownership, use case.

So, we’ll see different powertrains for a long time in the world.