The BMW iX Flow took the 2022 Consumer Electronics Show by storm. This was BMW‘s interestingly styled electric SUV (that has somehow not been a roaring sales success—go figure), wrapped in E Ink, with a film containing millions of color capsules that would respond to electrical signals to create either negatively charged white or positively charged black pigments. The shifting hues could create various patterns or shapes, but the tech looked fairly rudimentary in its execution, wild as it was at the time.
Then we were shown the i5 Flow Nostokana, with both colors and patterns, before BMW presented the i Vision Dee in Las Vegas, a concept that gave us a glimpse of what has become the new i3’s styling, but with richer colors on more advanced ePaper panels than those from CES. Now, BMW has taken another step forward with a concept called the iX3 Flow Edition and its animated hood, short videos of which are embedded a little further down.
BMW Has Competition with Color-Changing Cars
Since 2022’s show-stopping demonstration, Porsche has filed more than one patent for color-changing cars or elements thereof, and Ferrari is implementing E Ink in its Luce EV, albeit only on the key fob that acts as a starter switch. Can BMW stay at the forefront? The iX3 Flow Edition suggests so, because it shows animated graphics on a single large panel, the hood, and BMW has made the electrophoretic paint remarkably precise, with eight selectable animations available at the touch of a button, which BMW used at the 2026 Beijing Auto Show in China to show a pixelated image of the Shanghai skyline. But we could see this in America soon.
BMW showed this animated hood on a regular iX3 that is not sold in the country, not the roomier long-wheelbase version that the Chinese market requires. This could indicate that BMW intends to show this technology at other auto shows around the world, including some in the U.S. Of course, another explanation could be that BMW simply began work on this concept a long time before the iX3 LWB was announced, but we doubt BMW would put this much effort into the tech for just one country. We suspect BMW now has the capability to show a Lake Como-inspired design at the Villa d’Este concours, and it could probably show a Goodwood-inspired hood theme in July, or a Monterey-inspired look at Pebble Beach.
Potential Benefits of the E Ink Concept
We understand if you’re pessimistic about costs and viability in the real world, as well as the potential for criminals to avoid detection by changing the color of their cars on the move, but the technology could be restricted to law enforcement and emergency personnel, who might be better able to blend in or stand out as needed. E Ink technology could also be used as a sales tool, with BMW potentially able to install a static vehicle wrapped in the stuff at a dealership as a full-size configurator of sorts. Whatever the end use case, BMW is continuing to use the tech as it develops, and with others also taking advantage, it could be just a matter of time before it becomes mainstream. Either that, or the world will move on to something even more fascinating.
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