The next generation of BMW’s mainstream models will be more differentiated from each other in terms of styling, the company’s design boss has revealed.
BMW plans to evolve the design language of its upcoming 1-, 3-, 5- and 7-Series models so that they are more easily distinguished from each other. “We want each and every model to have its own little world. We think that’s important in a market where we sell two million cars this year,” Karim Habib, BMW brand design director, was quoted as saying by Autocar magazine.
“We need to maintain exclusivity, and if anything we will make them more separate,” the executive added. The trend of giving each model a distinct identity has been started in the late 1990s under Chris Bangle after BMW was criticized for making small, medium and large versions of the same car with the 3-, 5- and 7-Series.
However, BMW now wants the differentiation to grow even stronger. “Whatever we do must be authentic design, which represents the inner qualities of the car,” Habib explains.
The designer says one way to make the cars look different is to use new LED headlamp technology to give each model an individual front-end graphic. BMW is gearing up for the launch of the all-new 7-Series sedan, which is expected to feature slim LED headlights. These headlights allow designers to give the 7-Series a much larger double-kidney grille.
Due for 2016, the next-generation 5-Series may as well get LED headlights, but that depends on how the cost of the technology evolves. As for the next-generation 3-Series, LED headlights are out of the question because of cost constraints.
Note: 2014 BMW Vision Future Luxury Concept pictured
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