According to a recent report by Carsales, BMW has been gathering data from its vehicles to enhance in-vehicle features as well as functionalities. Although the German automaker collects data from its customers only if they provide consent, the BMW 7 Series is one of the vehicles covered under this program.

The Project Manager for BMW 7 Series Christoph Fagschlunger has confirmed that the company has been collecting data from its customers for 3 years with their permission. The feedback is helping them improve their vehicle development process

The automaker is focusing on vehicle development by analyzing the collected information which is also beneficial for its next-generation driver-less features or autonomous cars. The driving behavior and data collected by the company include where and when the active cruise control mode is used, how the lane control systems are controlled, is there any gap between the systems, and overall is the customer satisfied with all the features.

BMW has also claimed to have received 80% of driving data through its customers and has learned that 60% of customers who have the professionals form of navigation employ active cruise control as a result of these statistics. Only 36% of those customers, however, use the steering assistance and lane control functions.

The company sends data packets to Munich with the driver's permission in any of three scenarios: when the vehicle is turned off, when the engine is closed in an idle-stop, or when the vehicle is getting charged (for EVs and PHEVs).

Around four out of every five BMW owners, according to Fagschlunger, have agreed to provide data back to the corporation for the purposes. Customers have already provided the automaker with 1.2 billion km (745 million miles) of actual (and anonymized) driving data.

Source credits:

https://auto.hindustantimes.com/auto/cars/bmw-collects-customers-driving-data-to-improve-in-car-features-41650175820276.html