In BMW Cars for the Russian Federation, Crimea is Defaulted as Russian

In the navigation systems of BMW cars sold in Russia, it has become possible to set a map where Crimea is shown by default as part of the Russian Federation. By accessing the settings, one can make it Ukrainian if desired…

After another map update, it was renamed. If previously the file was called Road Map Europe EVO 2020-2, in the new version it has been named Road Map Europe EVO 2020-3 for some owners and Road Map Russia EVO 2020-3 for others. According to BBC, in the Russia 2020-3 maps, Crimea is indicated as part of Russia.

To update the map, you need to go to the BMW ConnectedDrive website and select the file. “BMW Group conducts constant work on updating the cartographic data of navigation systems, including with consideration for the laws of the country/region where the car is purchased or operated. However, there is an option to change the default settings if a client wishes to operate the car in another jurisdiction,” – stated the Russian branch of the BMW group in a response to a BBC inquiry. Essentially, this means that BMW has allowed Crimea to be Russian or Ukrainian, based on choice, in the onboard system. Let us remind you that the EU and the USA officially consider Crimea to be Ukrainian.