In 2019 Last year, the Bavarian company presented the X6 with a Vantablack VBx2 coating that absorbs almost all light, making it the darkest car in the world. In 2022, BMW revealed the iX Flow, which uses E Ink technology that allows you to change the color of the car.
Originally, E Ink could only switch between black, white, and grayscale. In 2023, BMW introduced the i Vision Dee concept, which can change the color of the interior, offering 32 different shades. This year, BMW continued the development of technologies in the same direction.
Now the innovation has been applied to the i5 Flow NOSTOKANA model, inspired by the Art Car created by Esther Mahlangu in 1991. In an interview with Drive magazine, BMW engineer Stella Clark said that cars with E Ink could appear on the roads in 3-5 years.
She stressed that initially this technology will be expensive and only available in some markets. Clark also noted that E Ink consumes a minimal amount of energy, comparable to the energy consumption of a light bulb.
The advantages of this technology go beyond the simple aesthetic effect. For example, on a hot day, owners will be able to make their cars white to reduce the temperature in the cabin.
Color changes can also help drivers find their cars in parking lots or make emergency vehicles more visible. BMW plans to put this technology into mass production by the end of the decade.