BMW to fit all UK models with satellite-navigation as standard

Satellite-navigation will be fitted as standard across BMW's UK range from September.

From July onwards, the 2 Series Convertible and 2 Series Active Tourer will receive navigation as a standard feature; the 1 Series range and 2 Series Coupé will follow in September.

In addition to this, the Z4 range will receive BMW Professional Navigation also from July production onwards.

This will mean that every BMW offered for sale in the UK will come with navigation as standard by the end of 2015.

Every model in the company's range will soon come with a 6.5-inch high-definition screen, iDrive controller and Traffic Message Channel. Professional Navigation adds a larger 8.8-inch screen with iDrive Touch controller, real-time traffic information (RTTI) and BMW Online including BMW Remote Services, which allows drivers to send Navigation addresses directly to their vehicle via Google or the BMW My Remote app.

In addition to this , the cost to upgrade to Professional Navigation for the 1 and 2 Series models has been reduced. Customers of the 1 Series Sports Hatch and 2 Series Coupé and Convertible can upgrade for £900.

The upgrade cost for 2 Series Active Tourer and Gran Tourer customers has also been reduced to £1,395, with this package also including the BMW head-up display.

Jeff Knight, forecasting editor cars at CAP, said: "BMW introducing navigation across its entire model range is a first for any mainstream manufacturer in the UK and will inevitably pave the way for others to follow.

"On-board navigation systems now offer so much more technology than previously seen with the likes of 2D and 3D navigation map displays, traffic information and particularly with BMW standard e-call functionality which is a key safety feature.

"As well as having standard navigation across the range, all BMW models will see an improvement on their residual value from between £300 to £600 (model dependent)."

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