Digital lifestyle at the BMW Group: Seamless in-car integration of Amazon Alexa in BMW and MINI.

Digital lifestyle at the BMW Group: Seamless in-car integration of Amazon Alexa in BMW and MINI.

Digital lifestyle at the BMW Group: Seamless in-car integration of Amazon Alexa in BMW and MINI.

The BMW Group is systematically expanding the intelligent connectivity capabilities of its vehicles by seamlessly integrating the highly versatile Alexa, Amazon’s voice-controlled personal assistant, into all BMW and MINI models from mid-2018. The innovative inclusion of a cloud-based voice service will enable BMW Group customers to access a variety of services, entertainment features and shopping facilities while on the move by simple voice interaction. Tens of thousands of Alexa skills that can be accessed from Echo devices will now be available for in-car use, too.

BMW Connected skill for Alexa has been available since September 2016. This has allowed BMW Connected users in the USA, Germany and the UK to ask Alexa to check vehicle information such as the state of charge or fuel level, or control their car via Remote Services from the comfort of their home. Alexa also makes it possible to consult appointments or scheduled routes and departure times with the help of the BMW Connected mobility agenda. The availability of Alexa in the car now makes it possible to use functions enjoyed at home while out on the road as well.

“By making this step of integrating Alexa into our models from mid-2018, BMW and MINI will form a more intrinsic part of our customers’ digital lifestyles,” remarked Dieter May, Senior Vice President Digital Services and Business Models at the BMW Group. “Voice control first featured in BMW Group cars many years ago, and we are now enhancing its functionality by adding a digital ecosystem, which will open up all sorts of new possibilities that customers can access quickly, easily and safely from their car.”

Digital lifestyle at the BMW Group: Seamless in-car integration of Amazon Alexa in BMW and MINI.

Today, 8.5 million BMW Group models worldwide are already connected. The vast number of services and infotainment features that can be controlled by voice commands in BMW models have paved the way for the forthcoming connectivity options and new digital services. A smartphone is not required to benefit from Alexa in the car, as all BMW models and selected MINI vehicles come equipped with a built-in SIM card. The resultant provision of online accessibility anywhere, anytime allows the seamless integration of Alexa.

For example, customers can find out which movies are currently showing at the local cinema, listen to their favourite playlist or find out the weather at their destination by voice command while on the move. And if the driver realises mid-way through a journey that they have forgotten something, they can ask Alexa to place an online order. Alexa can also show relevant content for certain skills (visual feedback) in the BMW Display Screen or MINI Centre Instrument.

“We are excited to work with BMW to bring the Alexa experience to their drivers,” said Ned Curic, Vice President, Alexa Automotive. “Using your voice to enjoy content and interact with Alexa makes a great driving experience even better. We can’t wait for BMW customers to try this out.” Intelligent connectivity between the vehicle and the user’s digital touchpoints is therefore moving into a new dimension at both BMW and MINI. Since the launch of the MINI Countryman – and the new MINI Connected alongside it – the connectivity capabilities of the British premium brand have been constantly enhanced.

From mid-2018 Amazon Alexa will be available in all BMW and MINI vehicles in USA, UK and Germany.

courtesy: www.press.bmwgroup.com

Seat’s New Suv Will Be Named Alboran, Aranda, Avila Or Tarraco

Seat’s New Suv Will Be Named Alboran, Aranda, Avila Or Tarraco

Seat’s New Suv Will Be Named Alboran, Aranda, Avila Or Tarraco

Alboran, Aranda, Avila or Tarraco. One of these four Spanish place names will designate SEAT’s new SUV, which will be going on sale in 2018. SEAT President Luca de Meo made the announcement today during his speech at the Frankfurt Motor Show, which opened its doors this morning to the press.

From today and until next September 25th, anyone who wants to vote for their preferred candidate can make their selection via the webpages seat.es/buscanombre or seat.com/seekingname. The place name which receives the highest number of votes will be the winner.

The four finalist names made it through to the second last stage of the initiative to designate SEAT’s large SUV, the third one following the Ateca and the Arona. This phased required the brand to organise several focus groups in its main markets, as well as testing in the countries where the company operates in order to select the four finalist names among the nine previously shortlisted.

Speaking about the four candidate names and the excellent response obtained by the initiative, SEAT President Luca de Meo pointed out during his presentation at the Frankfurt Motor Show that “Alboran, Aranda, Avila and Tarraco meet all the necessary requirements for becoming another one of SEAT’s emblems. The project has been a clear success and we would again like to thank all of the more than 133,000 fans in 106 countries who collaborated on the initiative. All that remains now is the final stage, and we encourage everyone to participate in the vote”.

Seat’s New Suv Will Be Named Alboran, Aranda, Avila Or Tarraco

The four finalists

Alboran: the Alboran Sea is the westernmost portion of the Mediterranean Sea. A major driver of the western Mediterranean water cycle, it is home to the greatest diversity of species in the seas of Europe.

Aranda: a city of more than 32,000 inhabitants in the province of Burgos, located in the region of Castile and Leon, it is the capital of the Ribera del Duero county, famous for its production of wine.

Avila: a city in the region of Castile and Leon, at 1,131 metres above sea level it is the highest provincial capital in Spain. The wall surrounding the old town is a symbol of the city.

Tarraco: it is the name of the former Roman city, one of the most important of ancient Hispania, which today is Tarragona. Its archaeological remains received the UNESCO World Heritage designation in 2000.

The initiative #SEATseekingName, launched last 1 June, received a total of 133,332 proposals from SEAT fans in 106 countries, who put forward 10,130 different Spanish place names following the guidelines defined by the brand. The selection continued through a strict process involving linguistic and legal criteria, as well as ensuring that the names matched the brand values and the product characteristics of SEAT’s new SUV.

After selecting the finalists, the name of SEAT’s new SUV will be announced before next October 15th. For the first time in the history of the brand, the name given to one of its models will be chosen by popular vote, and will join the 13 other Spanish place names that, beginning in 1982 with the Ronda, have designated vehicles in the SEAT model lineup.

The new Arona, the CUPRA R and Amazon Alexa , SEAT highlights at the Frankfurt Motor Show

In the framework of the Frankfurt Motor Show, SEAT also announced today that will be the first car brand in Europe to integrate the Amazon Alexa interactive voice service in its vehicles, developed by the US e-commerce giant Amazon. The voice-controlled interactive service will be available at the end of this year in the company’s Leon and Ateca models, and in the Ibiza, Arona and the large SUV in 2018.

In a world’s first, SEAT also presented in Frankfurt the brand’s new urban crossover, the SEAT Arona, which is on sale as of today with prices starting at €15,990. Two further great breakthroughs have also been highlighted: the exclusive Leon CUPRA R, a limited edition of the brand’s most powerful car, of which only 799 units will be on the market when it becomes available in late 2017; and the new Ibiza 1.0 TGI, the compressed natural gas fuelled version of SEAT’s bestseller.

courtesy: seat-mediacenter.com