WITH global inflation and rising manufacturing costs, BMW Group Malaysia, like other car companies, is facing challenges and has announced an upward revision of prices starting this month. The volume-weighted average price revisions are approximately 4.7% and 2.6% for BMW and MINI models, respectively.
To maintain BMW Group Malaysia’s the comprehensive warranty and maintenance programmes, BMW and MINI Service and Repair Inclusive (BSRI/MSRI) package prices are also updated accordingly and included in the overall price increase.
More feature enhancements
While the new vehicles will cost more, the company says that new customers will be able to enjoy more new feature enhancements to be announced during 2023.
These include Smartphone Integration (via Apple CarPlay and Android Auto), along with the Connected Package Professional which will be standard for all BMW models in 2023. This will allow convenient access to smartphone functions and apps directly from the dashboard control panel which operates in the BMW Operating System 7/8. Exclusive to models with BMW iDrive 8, Apple Maps will be adapted into the instrument panel and Head Up Display (HUD).
Remote Services, also standard, will enable owners to remotely control the car by locking their doors, activating the headlight flash or horn and starting the ventilation system using the My BMW App. Owners will also enjoy a Last State Call (LSC) which provides relevant information about the status of the car, such as the fuel level, mileage, status of doors and windows, Check Control Messages, pending services and more.
BMW Group Malaysia also mentions that the Smartphone Integration and Remote Services are on ‘lifetime offer’ (as long as technical prerequisites are met). Presumably, this point is in response to customer negativity over the subscription strategy some carmakers are starting which require owners to make additional payment to continue having the features or services.
From January onwards, owners will also enjoy 3 years runtime of BMW Maps Connected Charging and Connected Navigation. This, however, is subject to market availability which varies between sub-features and differs between models.
In addition to providing information to owners via the My BMW App, the Charging Management feature also showcases past and ongoing charging sessions which enables owners to remotely control and check ongoing or upcoming charging sessions. The app will also notify users should there be any specific charging events.
The cloud-based navigation system in BMW Maps will come with a more intuitive address input and a rich experience in the Point of Interest segment. Owners will also be able to send their destinations from the My BMW App to their vehicles seamlessly using the Send-to-Car feature. The Last Mile feature will assist in navigating towards their destination in the event that parking is not available nearby and they are forced to go on foot.