BMW has been well-placed for the next hundred years

As Bill Gates puts it, "Microsoft is always 18 months away from bankruptcy." As more and more non-automotive sector names appear on BMW's next 100-year competition list, you may find anxiety. It is the glory of the smart leader.

Mercedes-Benz used a convincing letter of congratulations to celebrate BMW's birthday for a century-long birthday that is 30 years behind him. A month ago, the 130-year-old old man seemed to have regained hope of regaining the global luxury car sales championship. Since 2005, this honor has been occupied by BMW for 10 years.

At this point, BMW, which is celebrating its 100th birthday in Munich, does not seem to regard Mercedes as its main rival for the next 100 years. Just like 100 years ago, Mercedes did not seem to realize that this Bavarian engine factory will become its strongest opponent in the coming years.

It wasn't Motorola that eliminated Nokia. It was Apple who lived on a digital music player at the time. The subversive nature of digital transformation is affecting every industry.

Google’s and Apple’s attempts in unmanned driving made the entire automotive industry feel an unprecedented sense of crisis. BMW is no exception. Even BMW considers Ubike, the online car service provider, and Truecar, an online car sales company, as competitors. BMW does not want its business model to fall into the hands of an Internet company. Otherwise, automakers can only be like companies like Foxconn for Apple, providing metal bodies for other companies.

According to the plan announced by BMW, it will be transformed from a pure car manufacturer to an individual traffic travel service provider. Despite this, Audi CEO Steve also said that in the future, Audi will no longer care only about the production of more cars, but more attention to mobile travel and digital development. But BMW seems to be one step faster in these areas.

Prior to this, the BMW Group has established the "City Travel Competitiveness Center" and the team of experts is working with some cities and related organizations to develop sustainable solutions for the future travel of cities. At the same time, BMW DriveNow (BMW's car sharing program) has also entered many cities around the world.

The BMW Group also launched a multi-modal route planning service to recommend the most suitable travel mode recommendations for users, including driving a vehicle or using public transportation. In addition, automatic reservation of parking spaces and standardized payment systems have also gradually become a reality.

In the face of future competitors, BMW VISION NEXT 100, a concept car full of futuristic technology and BMW classic design elements, presents BMW's interpretation of future products. In this future-oriented, driverless product, BMW, known for its “pure driving pleasure”, still maintains the connection between the driver and the car.

Even more noteworthy is that BMW also announced plans for radical changes. According to this plan, BMW will recruit more computer programmers, and nearly half of the R&D team will be composed of computer programmers to form a talent pool that can compete with companies such as Google’s Alphabet company in the field of driverless car R&D.

Any great change may be at the expense of weakening its traditional advantages. Kruger, the global CEO of BMW, seems to be facing a somewhat embarrassing situation. The old rival Mercedes-Benz is likely to overtake BMW in the 100-year anniversary of BMW.

In the Chinese market, the battle between BMW and Mercedes has never seemed so intense. In January, sales of Mercedes-Benz in China were only less than 1,000 BMWs.

However, even if sales are briefly exceeded, it does not mean that Mercedes will be the final winner. If you want to match the gunpowder library for the next ten years. BMW seems to have more advantages in the Chinese market than its competitors.

In a 4S shop of a BMW brand in Beijing, a pure electric BMW i3 was placed in a corner of the exhibition hall for individual display. Despite the sparse traffic, it is in stark contrast to the flow of people in its traditional fuel car showroom. But who can guarantee that there will be no alignment between the two in the future?

This BMW dealer has already started selling hard for i3 sales. The posters displayed at the entrance of the exhibition hall highlighted that the BMW i3 can be unrestricted by the number of motorized cars in Beijing. It can even drive one day more than a traditional fuel vehicle. In particular, after Beijing’s red and white red and green warnings limit the line, the BMW i3’s advantages will become even more prominent.

Of all luxury brands in the country, only BMW can meet this unique demand of users. Although due to the inability to enjoy state subsidies, the BMW i3's price appears to be somewhat higher.

The plug-in hybrid version of the BMW 5 Series was launched last year in its joint venture company BMW Brilliance, and the BMW i8 has also entered the Chinese market. Even BMW and its partners have established a special electric car brand in China to carry out the lease of pure electric vehicles.

In addition to the product level, BMW launched the "BMW Innovation Travel Service China Strategy" in China last year, laying a good foundation for the future competition for new energy vehicles. The strategy including the ChargeNow project will be the first in China. According to the plan, by the end of 2016, BMW will build 1,000 charging piles in China.

In the unmanned area, BMW has also reached cooperation with Baidu. The BMW prototype with Baidu's driverless technology has already begun to test.

While Audi is still struggling to break away from the official branding that A6 brings, when Mercedes is still pursuing sales of its competitors, BMW is ready for future competition.

From the current situation, BMW's future is not enough to sit back and relax, but such an ammunition store is enough for any opponent to drink a pot.