BMW Australia deletes touchscreen features in some cars amid chip shortage
Approximately 200 new BMWs will go rotary controller and voice control only this year, as chip pressures force touch functionality to be removed – albeit for an $800 lower price.
The semiconductor shortage has claimed its latest victim, with BMW Australia temporarily removing touchscreen functionality from the infotainment displays in a selection of its vehicles.
Approximately 200 vehicles across 2 Series Coupe, 3 Series, 4 Series, X5, X6, X7 and Z4 ranges – built from October across five plants in Germany, Mexico, Austria and the US – will see touch functionality deleted from their infotainment display, leaving voice control and BMW’s rotary controller as drivers’ remaining options.
Also on the chopping block is the Reversing Assistant feature, which allows the car to back itself autonomously out of tight, hard-to-navigate areas for distances of up to 50 metres.
Affected vehicles will benefit from an $800 price cut – including GST and Luxury Car Tax, pushing a 330i Touring just a few hundred dollars from the LCT cut-off.
“BMW Group Australia can confirm it has had to temporarily revise the specification of certain models in light of the global semiconductor shortage and has adjusted pricing accordingly,” a BMW Australia spokesperson said in a statement.
“Our aim is to ensure supplies continue to reach our production plants. To this end, we are in constant exchange with our suppliers and communicate our realistic requirements in good time.”
First reported on the Bimmerfest forum, the touchscreen deletion is signified on a vehicle’s build sheet by the ‘6UY’ option code. US buyers will be awarded with a $US500 credit – equivalent to $AU664, or $AU730 once GST is included.
Interestingly, the deletion of touch functionality across the batch of Australia-bound cars comes weeks after BMW unveiled the new-generation 2 Series Active Tourer, its first new vehicle in two decades without the brand’s signature iDrive rotary controller, instead requiring users to control its 10.7-inch touchscreen by touch, or using the ‘Hey BMW’ voice assistant.
It also follows earlier semiconductor shortage-related feature deletions across other models from the Bavarian brand, with the Driving Assistant Professional advanced safety suite and passenger lumbar support deleted from various vehicles earlier in 2021.
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