The global chip shortage has continued to take a toll on various industries as of late. While cutting down production and rationing components appear to be the preferred move by a lot of companies to cope with the situation, automaker BMW has decided to do something a bit more drastic. According to Autoblog, the company has confirmed that it is temporarily releasing a number of its vehicles without touchscreen controls.
Citing BMW, the website says that affected models include the BMW 3 Series, X5, X6, Z7 and Z4 models. Other models planned to be shipped without the feature will include the Coupe, Convertible and Gran Coupe variants of the BMW 4 Series – with the exception of the i4 EV. The company did not say how long it plans to continue releasing these vehicles without the onboard touchscreen controls.
BMW Santa Maria internet sales manager Jon Shafer (via Bimmerfest forum) noted that these models will still ship with an infotainment system, but will require owners to use the center console’s iDrive controller to navigate through it. He also added that affected vehicles will not have the BMW Backup Assistant included if buyers have opted for the Parking Assistant Package. For those unfamiliar, this feature aids the driver when leaving parking spaces and maneuvering in a confined space.
Those planning to own a brand new BMW vehicle in Malaysia can breathe easy, as this temporary measure only applies to shipments in the US for now. That being said, at least we know what to expect should the company decide to extend this action to other regions, including our own.
(Source: Autoblog / Bimmerfest forum)
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