The man behind BMW’s bold and brutal new look has said that the brand is sticking to their guns and will continue with the eye-catching style despite criticism.

The German company received stinging criticism for the new 4 Series coupe launch in 2020, which featured a new style kidney grille, a so-called ‘design language’ which many fans of BMW did not understand.

But speaking to Auto Express this week, BMW’s design chief, Domagoj Dukec said that they will pursue their new approach with the aim of standing out from the crowd.

“For some customers, if you want to reach them, you have to stand out. But you can’t make a design that pleases everyone,” BMW’s Head of Design said.

“If you are in this business you know how it is in design. Everyday you talk to people inside and outside of the company and everyone has an opinion - and a different taste. If you want to create something that really stands out it must be distinguished and it has to be different.”

The wave of vitriol directed at BMW was absorbed from all angles at the iconic luxury car brand, and while the feedback was taken on board, Adrian van Hooydonk admitted that the criticism hold no more weight than that from customer clinics.

“Social media, we love and hate it for the same reasons, because it’s instant and fast, but it can be brutal,” van Hooydonk said in the same Auto Trader article.

We deal with it in the same way as customer clinics - we have them built into the design process.

“I never go to clinics because comments can be brutal and not enjoyable. I wait for the final global evaluation on feedback - and we do it with social media. We look and analyse the data, where does it come from? Is it loved? Which market did it come from? Social media is analysed as well, but we don't know if there are real customers behind those comments but we know they are real voices so we listen.”

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