The BMW Group has decided to share its technological expertise with the world. BMW opts for an open-access approach and hopes to start a dialogue with potential partners. The initiative shows an approach that has never been implemented in the automotive industry before.

Global trend research allows the company to draw conclusions about future technological developments. As part of the open access approach, these results will be immediately processed in the Trend Radar and made available externally, meaning scientific institutions, start-ups, and potential partners can use them.

‘Outside-in perspective’

Frank Weber, Member of the Board of Management for Development at BMW AG, explains the initiative: “For me, one thing is clear: innovation is created in the spaces in between, i.e., through interaction. By openly publishing our Tech Radar, we want to start a dialogue with potential partners. Research and development do not work without an outside-in perspective.”

To identify the most interesting technology developments from manufacturing and science, scouts from BMW’s Technology Offices worldwide evaluate innovations based on three questions:

1) What relevance does the technology have for mobility?

2) How quickly is its development maturing?

3) What does the BMW Group need to know to apply the technology successfully?

The answers are bundled in a trend portfolio that is recommended for close observation, initial projects, and concrete application.

In the meantime, more than half of the 400 projects that the Technology Offices have initiated since 2019, stemming from identified trends, have been transferred internally to a specialist department. Ten percent of them found their way into concrete applications and products.

The Tech Radar can be accessed after inquiry through the website: https://www.bmwgroup.com/en/innovation/company/technology-trend-radar.html