BMW "marries" Chinese smart driving unicorn

Author | Chai Xuchen

Editor | Zhou Zhiyu

Shortly after partnering with Huawei's HarmonyOS ecosystem, BMW has also "married" with the domestic smart driving unicorn Momenta.

On July 15, BMW and Momenta officially announced their collaboration to jointly develop a new generation of intelligent assisted driving systems, which will first be applied to the domestically produced new generation (Neue Klasse) iX3 model in 2026, providing full-scene, point-to-point intelligent assisted driving functions covering highways and urban roads.

Previously, Mercedes-Benz and Audi had already begun cooperation with Momenta. Faced with a more than 15% year-on-year decline in sales in China in the first half of the year, and the urgent situation where old rivals like Mercedes-Benz and Audi have already teamed up with local suppliers, BMW has finally felt a real sense of crisis. The cautious remarks about technology from the past still linger in the ears, but now it has no choice but to accelerate its pursuit.

According to the plans of both parties, Momenta will create a "China-exclusive" intelligent driving assistance system for BMW.

From a functional perspective, this system will utilize an AI-driven "perception-planning-control" integrated architecture, employing end-to-end large model technology, integrating ultra-large-scale neural networks for environmental perception, path planning, and vehicle control, achieving highly intelligent driving judgment, allowing the vehicle to understand road conditions and make decisions in a manner close to that of human drivers, while also continuously self-learning and improving.

This means that BMW will leverage this to join the first tier of intelligent assisted driving experiences.

One core reason BMW chose to collaborate with a young Chinese smart driving company is that Momenta's cooperation model is more open and easier to align with BMW's demands.

It is understood that starting from the "new generation" model BMW iX3, its new energy product line has undergone strategic changes. The super brain for driving control equipped in the iX3 deeply integrates the power transmission system with the vehicle chassis control system, responding in as little as 1 millisecond.

In this cooperation plan, Momenta's AI system will be deeply integrated with BMW's chassis system, allowing the system to obtain chassis data in real-time, adjusting suspension stiffness and vehicle posture in advance during turns and lane changes, ensuring that the dynamic performance of the vehicle remains BMW's signature precision and handling after intelligent driving intervention.

When BMW's proud pure driving feel and profound chassis tuning skills, along with precise steering feedback, combine with the "intelligent brain" provided by Momenta, BMW may create a "game-changing" model. Gao Xiang, President and CEO of BMW Group Greater China, stated that they aim to create a "pure intelligent driving pleasure with BMW DNA and Chinese intelligence" for Chinese users.

Now, the collaboration with Momenta marks a significant shift in BMW's smart driving strategy. In the past, BMW has been relatively restrained in this regard, with functions mostly limited to basic levels such as adaptive cruise control and lane keeping.

Its global R&D head has also stated that BMW will not sacrifice the real feedback of steering and suspension in pursuit of advanced autonomous driving; the goal of intelligence is to enhance rather than replace driving pleasure The dramatic changes in the market have forced BMW to adapt. According to sources close to BMW, after senior executives at the company headquarters experienced the intelligent driving systems of brands like XPeng, Li Auto, and Huawei at the end of last year, they realized that the acceptance of advanced intelligent driving in the Chinese market far exceeded expectations. The past caution is now putting BMW at risk of losing an increasing market share.

The pressure is most visibly reflected in sales. From January to June this year, BMW's sales in the Chinese market fell sharply by 15.5% year-on-year, making it the worst-performing market globally for the company. Internal reviews have repeatedly pointed to market strategy as the reason. Its proud "driving control" label has been rapidly weakened in the era of electrification, with domestic high-end electric vehicles like Model 3, ZEEKR 001, and Xiaomi SU7 continuously diluting its voice in the performance field.

In multiple internal sales reviews at BMW China, the market strategy is widely regarded as a shortcoming.

In contrast, Audi and Mercedes-Benz, part of the BBA trio, have acted much more swiftly in the face of market challenges.

It is understood that Mercedes-Benz headquarters conducts global competitive analysis twice a year, and there is a dedicated competitive technology analysis team in China, with some new car developments fully benchmarking against new force brands; Audi has even established a new brand AUDI to respond to the new forces.

In terms of intelligent driving, Mercedes-Benz made an early bet back in 2017 by strategically investing in Momenta, whose intelligent driving system was installed in the all-electric CLA last November; Audi followed suit, announcing at the Shanghai Auto Show in April this year that its all-electric brand AUDI would feature Momenta technology.

In fact, embracing local suppliers has become a consensus among foreign automakers developing in China. Before focusing on intelligent driving, BMW had already partnered with Huawei in the smart cockpit field to achieve connectivity between people, vehicles, and homes; it also collaborated with Alibaba to develop an AI language model. Now, the partnership with Momenta completes a key part of its intelligent strategy in China, marking BMW's recognition that it must actively integrate into the cutting-edge technology ecosystem in China to win in the future.

However, for BMW, finding external support does not guarantee a victory in the future.

The "new generation" models from BMW will not officially debut until 2026, which seems quite lengthy in the rapidly changing Chinese market. Market participants point out that intelligent driving features alone are unlikely to sway all users' car-buying decisions.

To ultimately succeed in fierce competition, BMW must analyze product definitions, value its Chinese R&D teams, and embrace the Chinese supply chain. Embracing collaboration is just the first step; how to deeply integrate external technologies with its own system and respond quickly to market changes is a challenge that BMW must independently tackle moving forward