BMW launches Neue Klasse, expands standard active safety features

The launch of the Neue Klasse marks the first time BMW will offer an expanded portfolio of active safety assistance systems as standard across multiple model series.

BMW Group’s website states that the Neue Klasse isn’t just a new car, but rather, “the redefinition of the BMW brand and thereby the whole new model generation being launched with the new BMW iX3.”

The group says the Neue Klasse is “the logical dawn of a new era of individual mobility for the BMW Group.”

BMW debuted the Vision Neue Klasse, dubbed its next-gen i3, at the 2023 IAA Munich. At the time, Oliver Zipse, former chairman of the BMW AG Board of Management, shared that the concept car was “already bringing the mobility of the next decade to the roads in 2025 – and leading BMW into a new era.”

A recent press release from the OEM states that its newly expanded assistance systems support safe driving, parking, and exiting BMW vehicles.

New safety assistance features include an exit warning function with active door-opening delay, which BMW says will help prevent “dooring accidents.” It defines dooring accidents as occurring when a parked vehicle’s door unexpectedly opens into the traffic lane, and are particularly dangerous for cyclists.

The BMW iX3 was the first Neue Klasse production model to feature the technologies. Others are the i3, X5 and 7 Series.

“With the new BMW iX3 and subsequent models, BMW is laying the technical foundation for the next generation of intelligent, symbiotic, and safe driver-assistance systems,” the release states. “All new active safety, automated driving, and automated parking functions are managed by the central ‘Superbrain of Automated Driving.’ This water-cooled high-performance computer has approximately 20 times the computing power of the previous system.”

While exit warning has come standard on many BMW models for years, it has been expanded for the launch of the Neue Klasse to include an active door opening delay.

The release states that by using side radars, the system continuously monitors the traffic area around the parked vehicle and detects approaching vehicles, bicycles, or other road users. It states that if the vehicle detects a collision risk, the electronic door lock delays opening the door until the danger has passed.

“The broad rollout of our new active safety functions as standard is based on our ‘Smart, Symbiotic, Safe’ philosophy,” said Mihiar Ayoubi, BMW Group’s driving experience development senior vice president, in the release. “We bring drivers and assistance systems together into a cooperative system that works in harmony. At BMW, active safety functions operate as quiet, intelligent companions in the background, discreet yet highly effective when it matters most in critical situations.”

The release states that analysis of customer-consented data from BMW’s intelligently connected vehicle fleet demonstrates active safety assistance system functions contribute to greater road safety.

“In the last month alone, the fleet analysed in Europe covered 1.6 billion kilometres. Customers were alerted to potential collisions around 8 million times through visual and acoustic warnings,” the release states. “In 243,977 cases, active steering and braking interventions by assistance systems helped prevent a potential collision.”

BMW also offers its “Symbiotic Drive” on its new generation of vehicles, which the OEM says creates an intuitive partnership between driver and vehicle.

“The system understands the driver’s intentions through steering inputs and line of sight, enabling assistance functions to intervene only when necessary,” the release states. “As a result, functions such as the Lane Keeping Assistant only provide warnings or steering interventions when the vehicle detects an unintended lane departure or an imminent collision.”

BMW says indicators of driver intent include activating the turn signal, making an active steering input, or performing a shoulder check.

It adds that when a maneuver is initiated deliberately by the driver, the system doesn’t intervene, “provided there is no foreseeable risk of a collision or the vehicle leaving the roadway.”

BMW notes that the new iX3 was one of the first vehicles evaluated under the new Euro NCAP testing protocols, ultimately receiving the top rating of five stars.

BMW says other safety assistance enhancements include:

• • Emergency steering intervention — automatically steers the vehicle around an obstacle while keeping it within its own lane, for example, when a person steps into the road between two vehicles after one of the vehicles breaks down, or if a cyclist is overlooked in low-light conditions.
  • Emergency Brake Assistant with evasive steering support — helps prevent imminent head-on collisions by automatically applying the brakes up to full deceleration. And with improved sensor technology, it can also assist in situations involving animals on the road and wildlife crossings.
  • Road Priority Warning — now displays recognized traffic signs in the BMW Panoramic Vision display within the driver’s field of view. In addition to red traffic lights, yield signs, stop signs, and no-entry signs, this now also includes warnings at crosswalks.
  • Attentiveness Assistant with emergency stop — can provide support in medical emergencies. The driver camera can detect if the driver is no longer fit to drive, and in response, the system temporarily takes control of the vehicle to bring it to a controlled stop. The system also turns the hazard lights on and makes an eCall, or emergency call. BMW notes that the driver can override the system at any time.
  • Active Park Distance Control — can prevent collisions using ultrasonic sensors and surround-view cameras to apply the brakes at the rear, and now, on both sides. Doing so can stop the vehicle when it detects stationary or moving objects.

The release notes that BMW has also refined its emergency braking and start monitoring functions. It also states that new-generation sensors and an improved Assisted View display are in the BMW Operating System X to show driving situations “with precision and in great detail.”

“The visualizations are shown on the Central Display, the Panoramic Vision, or optionally on the 3D Head-Up Display,” the release states. “They help the driver intuitively grasp traffic conditions and detected objects and provide additional clarity regarding the currently active driver assistance systems and their interventions.”

The release also notes that BMW Group’s Future Mobility Development Center (FMDC) test facility in Sokolov, Czech Republic has significantly contributed to the development of new active safety systems and driver assistance features. It opened in 2023.

BMW says it is BMW Group’s largest proving ground worldwide with 25 kilometers, or about 16 miles, of test tracks “for validating realistic driving and traffic scenarios under reproducible conditions,” the release states.

The scenarios range from urban traffic and motorway driving to automated parking maneuvers.

It also complements virtual driving simulations and millions of kilometers of testing on public roads in extreme heat, snow, and ice across Europe, North America, South Africa, and China, BMW says.

Images

All images provided by BMW Group