Engineering news
BMW has announced that it plans to release a fully functional autonomous vehicle as soon as 2021.
The German firm’s chief executive Harald Kruger revealed his intentions when speaking at the company’s annual shareholder meeting in Munich.
Kruger suggested that the autonomous car, which is currently being referred to as the iNEXT will be able to drive itself in many situations and offer an electric powertrain - either plug-in or fully electric.
Kruger said: “In 2018, we will launch a BMW i8 Roadster. This will be followed in 2021 by the BMW I NEXT, our new innovation driver, with autonomous driving, digital connectivity, intelligent lightweight design, a totally new interior and ultimately bringing the next generation of electro-mobility to the road.”
He continued: "People often ask me, when will we be driving autonomously? My answer is: We already can,” Kruger said. “A BMW test vehicle autonomously completed a lap of the Hockenheimring racetrack back in 2006. In 2011, a BMW drove on the A9 autobahn from Munich towards Nuremberg — without any driver intervention. It will be a while before these cars reach series maturity, also because the proper legal framework for customers and manufacturers has not yet been decided.”
The manufacturer is well-positioned to achieve its goal of a fully driverless vehicle by 2021. In August 2015, the German firm partnered with Mercedes and Audi to acquire Nokia’s HERE Maps in a $3 billion group deal to develop mapping technology for autonomous driving.
Before BMW develops the iNEXT, it is launching a campaign called Project i 2.0. The i Division allowed BMW to build its technology for alternative mobility and helped create the i3 and i8. High definition digital maps, sensor technology, cloud technology as well as artificial intelligence will be the main focal points of Project i 2.0.
The announcement comes amid a push from Volvo to expand its self-driving research across China and the UK, while a team of truck manufacturers recently proved the worth of autonomous platooning during their trek across Europe.
“Our focus is clear: we are securing the BMW Group’s position as technological market leader,” said Klaus Fröhlich, member of the Board of Management responsible for Development. “With project i 2.0 we will lead the field of autonomous driving. We will turn research projects into new kinds of industrial processes, bringing future technology onto the road.”