BMW Will Soon Roll Out Digital Helper To Book Restaurants

BMW is introducing a digital helper that will allow drivers to locate a nearby restaurant with available seats, book their table and find the most efficient route to get there. The feature will be part of the cloud-based BMW Connected service, which will include other applications such as home-heating remote control. The product was unveiled at this year’s Consumer Electronics Show, and according to Dieter May, head of the company’s digital services and business models unit, it will become available in the next few months.

As companies such as Apple and Google attempt to take over the dashboard technology in cars, automakers have been steadily working on developing their own connected vehicle technologies. BMW Connected can be installed in cars that are equipped with ConnectedDrive dashboard electronics.

The automaker created May’s unit in 2015, with the aim to quickly develop new digital products. It has a workforce of approximately 150 employees with offices in Munich, Chicago and Shanghai.

“We have the right assets to survive in this game,” said May. “We don’t know how it’ll end. I think no one knew five years ago how the smartphone game would end.” He further noted the company is in discussions with third-party providers, such as weather forecasters, to supply additional content.

Certainly, there is a great business opportunity in mobile communications for the auto industry. According to estimates last year by McKinsey & Co., revenue from data streams and connectivity components will become a $196 billion market by 2020.