BMW relies on Amazon Alexa as voice assistant

The next generation of BMW’s voice assistant will be based on Alexa technology. This was announced by Stephan Durach, Senior Vice President Connected Company and Development Technical Operations BMW Group and Dave Limp, Senior Vice President of Devices and Services, Amazon annual Amazon Devices and Services events.

BMW Alexa support offers new possibilities

“With Alexa technology, we are creating an even more natural dialogue between driver and vehicle, allowing drivers to fully focus on the road. With this, we are once again taking the digital experience in the vehicle to a new level,” reveals Stephan Durach.

The first BMW voice assistant, called BMW Intelligent Personal Assistant, was launched in 2018 and for the first time enabled interaction with the car by voice within the BMW iDrive concept.

The new BMW voice assistant will then work seamlessly with Alexa, combining the capacities of the BMW Assistant with the capabilities of Amazon’s solution. With the help of Alexa, it will then be possible to play music, control the smart home remotely, add items to the shopping list or check the weather report.

Privacy is the focus of the BMW Group

But the BMW Group’s top priority is the privacy of its drivers, it was revealed. Together with Amazon, they want to maintain customer trust, protect privacy and leave you alone in control of your data.

Both voice assistance systems can be optionally combined or used individually and separately. However, the first vehicles with the new generation of the BMW voice assistant including Alexa are not expected to be offered until the next two years.

It is quite possible that the new voice assistant will be used in the new BMW 7 Series and new i7 currently in production at the Dingolfing plant. BMW also has an exciting innovation in tow for charging its electric cars with Plug & Charge, which enables charging without an app or map.