Advanced, Electrified And Tech-Heavy Cars Could Be Making Themselves Obsolete

We’re living in the digital age; of that there can be no argument. We can shop, bank and entertain ourselves without ever looking away from our phone screens. Until we change phones, that is.

Some people are good at making technology last. They can take a cool new piece of tech and enjoy it for years without feeling the need to swap it for the latest and greatest, while others always want the best and newest of everything that matters to them, whether that’s phones, video games or even cars. People with the money to do it often swap their motors every two or three years.

But in a world where technology is changing and improving every year, it’s difficult to keep the flavour of the month feeling truly current and relevant over an eight-year product cycle. Did I write ‘difficult’? Scratch that: I meant borderline impossible. Yesterday’s news about the i8’s new convertible brother got me wondering whether the i8 has, at this stage through no fault of BMW’s, already become exactly that: yesterday’s news.

Before BMW i was a thing, there was a long-running publicity campaign to raise awareness, most notably for me on the walls of the corridor joining Heathrow Airport’s Terminal Five with a convenient Sofitel hotel; a corridor most British motor journalists have walked dozens of times. When the launch of the sub-brand finally came around it was huge news. The publicity was everywhere and you couldn’t move for pictures of the i3 and i8. I’m sure that in late 2013 I saw the two BMWs more times than I saw my fiancee.

Their appeal was based chiefly on their technology, and what they achieved with it. Trademark BMW dynamics, they said, just with advanced and flexible electrification. It was a big deal, and one that was fundamentally proved correct. The i8 is a brilliant sports car and the i3 is one of the best superminis you can buy, despite being hideously expensive compared to what you’ll pay for a Fiesta.

Going back to the fact that the technological world is moving so quickly, though, it has meant that the i8 and i3 are beginning to feel almost like products of a previous dynasty, despite only coming up to their fourth birthdays. A lot has happened since then, and some of the i-cars’ novelty has worn off. Maybe we’ve seen the extremely distinctive styling a few too many times, now, and as French cars have been proving decade-in, decade out, the most distinctive styling always dates quickly.

There’s nothing BMW can really do about this, other than smoothing out the styling and making its i-cars more classically beautiful. The technological achievements the company made in developing the i8 and i3 can’t be underestimated. They are both great to drive, and for one Mr Clarkson to openly choose an i8 over the current M3 says a lot.

However, manufacturers need to be aware of the trap they’re setting for themselves. The more they market and sell cars based on their new-fangled tech, the more they risk each model feeling obsolete all the sooner, which then places more pressure on the factory to add more gadgets more quickly. From there the spiral would continue. The more emphasis there is on the latest thing, the sooner it’s no longer relevant.

The next few years will be an interesting time both for consumers and car makers. Consumers’ demand for the latest technology, both inside the cabin and under the bonnet, will only grow. Will manufacturers try to keep pace like Apple and Samsung in the annual upgrading of phone systems, or will they revise their strategies to manage the public’s expectations with outdated tech? And if they do, will people really be happy with that?