In a market once dominated by startups like Tesla (TSLA) , electric cars have become a must-have item for any self-respecting automaker in 2024.
EVs have become a new cornerstone for prolific German luxury automaker BMW. The Bavarian Motor Works' lineup currently has four electric models: the i4, i5, iX, and i7, which are essentially indistinguishable electric versions of a respective gas-powered car.
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According to BMW's figures, the four EVs made up 15% of the automaker's total U.S. volume in the second quarter of 2024, selling 14,081 out of the 91,237 vehicles it pushed out of dealerships.
Though these figures are impressive, they could be better. In the same period, Tesla delivered 422,405 Model 3s and Model Ys.
BMW has a cool, clever new way of weaning its gas-powered customers off the pump and into EVs, but it can also prove to be a huge privacy nightmare.
BMW
BMW's clever app
In the latest update of the automaker's My BMW smartphone application, BMW has added a new feature designed to convince owners of gas-powered BMWs to switch to an EV.
The app's feature is called 'Electric Vehicle Analysis,' and it works by communicating with a gas-powered BMW running a fairly recent version of the automaker's infotainment operating system.
Owners who wish to proceed with the analysis will select a preferred EV from the brand's offerings, such as an i4, i5, iX, or i7.
For example, say an owner currently drives BMW's 5 Series sedan as a daily driver and is somewhat interested in buying an electric i5.
BMW
The owner will open the app and then select the i5 for 'analysis.' Over the course of at least 200 trips totaling 1,250 miles with the gas-powered 5 series, BMW takes the data and comes up with a simulation that informs owners on the number of journeys that could have been made on a single charge of the i5.
Buyers who currently own a recent model-year BMW can try out this feature with any of the four cars on BMW's electric lineup. According to BMW, the feature is designed to combat "the range anxiety and concerns about the everyday practicality of all-electric vehicles that are still prevalent today."
“Electric vehicles can already be incorporated perfectly into the daily routine of many customers–it’s just that the majority of them haven’t tried it yet,” said Dirk Wiedmann, BMW Senior Vice President of Sales Steering and Strategy, Digitalisation. “Our app’s Electric Vehicle Analysis helps our customers to make an informed judgment in their choice of drive system.”
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A privacy nightmare
Though having an aggressively upselling BMW salesperson as a feature in your smartphone application may sound like a nightmare for most people, actual upselling BMW salespeople do not collect all kinds of data on you.
In a 2022 interview with Australian auto publication CarSales, BMW engineer Christoph Fagschlunger admitted that the company collects customer and car data in an awkwardly non-reassuring way, noting that the data is used solely for research purposes.
“We only do this with the permission from each customer – they have to give it – and nearly 80 percent of customers do so,” Fagschlunger said.
“With this approach, we have gained about 1.2 billion kilometers out of the customer fleet."
According to the Mozilla Foundation's Privacy Not Included review on BMW, the My BMW app collects a plethora of very specific data, not limited to you and your car's location data. The app catalogs vehicle images, including 3D images around your car, detailed environmental and weather information your car experiences, information from various sensors around the car, and where and how fast you drive your BMW.
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Additionally, while the BMW engineer says that the automaker uses this information for research and development purposes, Mozilla found that BMW "can share this data with third-party dealers, services providers, and business partners."
BMW is far from the only automaker that has been scrutinized for sharing customer data for profit.
In an August 13 announcement, Texas Attorney General Ken Paxton opened a lawsuit targeting General Motors for what he calls "false, deceptive, and misleading business practices" regarding the "unlawful collection and sale of over 1.5 million Texans’ private driving data to insurance companies without their knowledge or consent."
“Companies are using invasive technology to violate the rights of our citizens in unthinkable ways," Attorney General Paxton said in a statement. "Millions of American drivers wanted to buy a car, not a comprehensive surveillance system that unlawfully records information about every drive they take and sells their data to any company willing to pay for it.”
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