(Beijing) On July 10, BMW (China) Automobile Trading Co., Ltd. officially announced that it has reached a 5G mobile communication business cooperation with China Unicom, laying the communication foundation for BMW products to enter the 5G era smoothly. So far, BMW has become the first international vehicle manufacturer to reach a 5G mobile network service agreement with China Unicom. This is also another important milestone for BMW to promote the “2+4” strategic layout in China under the guidance of the new “first strategy”.
Mr. Gao Le, President and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, said: “For the automotive industry that is undergoing digital transformation, the impact of 5G mobile communication technology will be immeasurable. Whether it is autonomous driving or in-vehicle interconnection , all data-based businesses will enter a new stage of development. As the leader of the “new four modernizations” of automobiles, BMW has always been committed to the strategic layout and technological innovation in the Chinese local market. This time, the cooperation with China Unicom will further deepen The cooperation is an important step for BMW to actively plan and invest in the future in the context of the 5G era.”
China Unicom stated that on June 6, the Ministry of Industry and Information Technology issued 5G commercial licenses to four companies including China Unicom, marking China’s official entry into the first year of 5G commercial use. In the era of the Internet of Everything, the 5G information network with high speed, low latency, and large bandwidth will become a new engine for the rapid development of the Internet of Vehicles, autonomous driving and other industries. Through the strong alliance with BMW, China Unicom will give full play to the advantages of 5G mobile communication technology, big data, and cloud-network collaboration, promote innovation to empower auto companies, and support the auto industry to quickly enter the 5G era.
BMW China and China Unicom have started business together as early as the 3G/4G network era. The cooperation covers networking services, in-vehicle information service platforms, call centers, online store operations, travel service operations, etc. China Unicom is one of the earliest operators in China to deploy 5G mobile communication networks. According to the cooperation agreement, BMW China is cooperating with China Unicom to carry out an autonomous driving verification project based on 5G mobile communication networks, including the establishment of a 5G network environment for experiments to explore Autonomous driving applications in different scenarios. In addition, from July 2021, some new BMW models sold in China will be able to access China Unicom’s 5G mobile communication network, making more demanding, complex, and larger data traffic applications possible.
Among them, the most direct beneficiary is autonomous driving. During the development and application of autonomous driving technology, a large amount of driving scene data will be generated. These data are transmitted to the big data center through the mobile network anytime and anywhere for analysis and calculation. Take BMW as an example. In China, each BMW self-driving test vehicle generates up to 8TB of data per hour, which is equivalent to producing a high-definition movie every second. This level of data volume cannot be satisfied by the existing 4G mobile network bandwidth. The advent of 5G networks has solved this problem.
In addition, the low latency of the 5G network enables functions that require fast response, such as high-precision map navigation and remote control, to be performed with extremely low latency, which is of great significance to vehicle safety. The “Internet of Everything” that comes with 5G makes V2X (Vehicle to everything) possible. Cars and cars, cars and the environment are interconnected anytime, anywhere, sharing real-time updated driving information, enabling vehicles to predict traffic jams or dangerous situations, and quickly formulate optimal driving strategies through cloud computing, thereby effectively avoiding traffic accidents and road congestion.
For users, the 5G network will bring a more enjoyable travel experience: remote software upgrades are more convenient and fast, human-computer interaction in the car is easier and more natural, and the time “saved” in the car through autonomous driving can be used to enjoy ultra-high-definition online videos , immersive VR experience and other entertainment functions. It can be said that the powerful performance of the 5G network brings infinite possibilities for smart transportation in the era of big data.
There is no doubt that the advent of the 5G era will accelerate the transformation of the auto industry to the “new four modernizations”. As the pioneer of the “new four modernizations”, BMW has not only accumulated rich experience and technology, but also has a clear future plan. In 2021, the BMW iNEXT, the flagship model of BMW Group’s next-generation technology, will be a fully interconnected intelligent networked car. It will also be BMW’s first model to provide L3 autonomous driving functions, and it will technically reach the level of L4 autonomous driving.
China is one of BMW’s most important innovation centers in the world, and it is also the vanguard of future travel technology research and development in the 5G era. BMW will continue to invest in localized technological innovation. Adhering to the business strategy of “in China, for the world”, we will work together with Chinese partners to bring users a safer, smarter and more environmentally friendly luxury travel experience.
