BMW AG rarely has to answer this question in Western showrooms, but it is becoming increasingly important for selling cars in China: Can I sing karaoke in this automobile?
Customers in the world’s largest auto market are demanding that sing-along apps such as Changba (唱吧) work in new vehicles. Local manufacturers XPeng Inc (小鵬), Nio Inc (蔚來) and BYD Co (比亞迪) are at the forefront of this trend, besting Western rivals by offering models with karaoke microphones.
The push extends beyond music, with Chinese buyers expecting seamless access to features like in-car payment and social media connectivity.
“We’ve identified this as a challenge,” BMW’s digital car chief Christoph Grote said. “Chinese consumers are the most demanding when it comes to digital technology in the car.”
Tapping into local tastes is crucial to win over customers in China, where electric-car adoption is accelerating and homegrown auto offerings are mushrooming. The country is the biggest market for BMW as well as Volkswagen AG, accounting for 36 percent and 40 percent of sales, respectively.
Local brands are trying hard to win over the digital-native crowd. Zhejiang Geely Holding Group Co (浙江吉利控股) earlier this year started Zeekr, an all-electric marque aimed at millennials, and automakers are using local influencers to tout their models as online buying becomes more widespread.
Western manufacturers are lagging behind integrating Chinese digital ecosystems into their cars, according to Kearney. More than two-thirds of local consumers view Chinese navigation apps as a must-have feature, and Western brands risk falling behind in the “everything-connected” era, the consultancy said in a report last year.
While Western automakers have viewed digital connectivity as a feature for which they can charge extra to customers, its Chinese rivals are using it as an enabler to integrate third-party services, said Bill Russo, chief executive officer of Automobility Ltd, a Shanghai-based consultancy.
“Such digital services are dominated by local ecosystem players in China, and multinationals often lack the deep local collaborations needed to generate revenue from these services,” Russo said.
BMW does not yet offer karaoke features in its cars, but has worked with Tencent Holdings Ltd (騰訊) to integrate a function to pay parking fees via the popular WeChat Pay app.
The company plans to use a joint venture formed last year with Nanjing-based Archermind Technology Nanjing Co (誠邁科技) to expand its connectivity features and is open to other partnerships, Grote said.
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