A BMW logo is seen on a car displayed on media day at the Paris Mondial de l'Automobile, October 3, 2014. The Paris auto show opens its doors to the public from October 4 to October 19.BENOIT TESSIER/Reuters
BMW brought out a platoon of its senior executives, with CEO Norbert Reithofer leading off with not a discussion about the "Ultimate Driving Machine", but a comment on seismic shifts in how people live and work. Specifically in large cities like Paris, the traffic-choked French capital.
"Well, our electric BMW i3 here was designed specifically with megacities like Paris in mind," said the head of BMW's management board.
He went on to say the i3 has built-in software designed to help drivers navigate traffic jams. And he said the i3 "was not an easy step for us as a car maker."
Indeed, the i3 is a little electric runabout from a company that built its brand on fast, sexy cars. Whether this was a good idea for BMW remains to be seen. As Reithofer said, only a few hundred French customers have bought an i3 since the start of 2014. Perhaps it will be more popular in China when it goes on sale later this year.
"Sustainable mobility is gradually becoming reality – wherever customers find it to be an attractive and innovative option," he said before launching into a defence of European innovation and a plea for Europe to "focus on the common ground – the things that unite us. Let us strengthen our industrial base and invest in future technologies and innovations."
Huh? At an auto show? What did this all mean? BMW's leadership is aware that Europe as a whole is slipping back into recession and the slowly escalating conflict involving Russia, Ukraine and Western countries threatens a further economic calamity and perhaps even war.
And then BMW brought out the cars and more executives.
Mini head Peter Schwarzenbauer heralded the world premiere of the new MINI Hatch 5 Door.
"With this model, Mini aims to capitalize on the growing segment for five-door hatchbacks – which is twice the size of the three-door compact segment," he said, before pointing Mini's vision for the future, a concept roadster called the "Superleggera."
"It shows the direction for Mini," he said. "My vision for Mini is that Mini will be defined by models with a strong personality – superheroes with unique characteristics."
Then he turned to the world premiere of the Rolls-Royce Phantom Metropolitan, followed by a couple of motorcycles: the S 1000 RR, R 1200 RS, and C evolution.
Next came development chief Herbert Diess pointing to the world premiere of the BMW 2-Series convertible, followed by sales and marketing boss Ian Robertson unveiling the new BMW X6.
Very interesting what they're doing and saying over there at BMW.