"Acquisition of Siemens VDO" - the end of MKIV firmware updates?

[davipt]

As had been widely predicted, Siemens AG has agreed to sell Siemens VDO Automotive AG to Continental AG, subject to the approval of the relevant anti-trust authorities. The proposed EUR11.4 billion purchase will make the combined entity into the fifth largest automotive supplier. Total 2006 combined sales for Continental and Siemens VDO were around EUR25 billion, including aftermarket operations, with a worldwide workforce of close to 140,000. The finance package will be comprised largely of borrowings on equity, backed up by measures aimed at bolstering Continental’s equity capital.

does this mean the end of firmware upgrades on our MKIV systems?

If so, and as all MKx systems would be terminated, couldn't they just release the firmware as open-source (BSD new licence) and let us properly "tweak" our cars?

Does anyone want to have a petition to this guys asking for the firmware? Do you have contacts (I just know it was a Siemens VDO team in France, not here in Germany).

[LeMansX5]

Saw this yesterday. I doubt its end of MKIV updates though.

[Brian-bmw]

I agree. The MKIV updates will probably continue until the current body styles of the Z4 and X3 are out of production. We probalby have two to three more years of updates.

[aise]

good cos i´m planning to drive a e39 for 2-3 years (i can´t get used to e60 interior)

[Technic]

Originally Posted by Brian-bmw

I agree. The MKIV updates will probably continue until the current body styles of the Z4 and X3 are out of production. We probalby have two to three more years of updates.

Continental looks to be in a shopping frenzy for auto suppliers: they bought also the Motorola auto division (TCU's are now Continental) sometime last year/early this year.

[davipt]

What/when was the last model with a MKIII and when was the last update to it? Maybe then we get an idea of how long they supported it.

Either way, I would gladly support a petition to open-source the firmware

[Brian-bmw]

Originally Posted by davipt

What/when was the last model with a MKIII and when was the last update to it? Maybe then we get an idea of how long they supported it.

Historically, OS support ended two to three years after each of the MKI, MII, and MKIII models were end-of-lifed. However, I doubt that we will see MKIV updates for that long. My reasoning is that they were all based on a related computing architecture; therefore an update for a newer model might also have benefitted a previous model in the early years. There is nothing newer than a MKIV, so BMW will probably not do much after those are end-of-lifed. Also, BMW dumped OS support for the NAVI01 and NAVI02 units much faster than they did for the retired MKxx units.