We recently just heard what Klaus Fröhlich, head of development for BMW, had to say about the BMW iNEXT and its future autonomous capabilities. At the moment, BMW’s self-driving tech is at Level 2 but BMW claims that its Level 2 is more advanced than other brands’ Level 3. While that might just sound like some chest pounding, that’s neither here nor there. It seems that regardless of whether or not BMW feels its tech is more advanced than the rest of the industry’s, the Bavarians are more than willing to partner with other brands to help develop autonomous tech.
BMW is currently working with the FCA, Intel, Mobileye and Magna International to help develop self-driving technologies. The Bavarians understand that such technology is incredibly difficult to develop and that the more great minds involved, the faster and better it will develop. So BMW is willing to bring on other partners after this current phase of tech.
“At the moment, I have a large amount of interested parties, but for the first generation it’s already almost too late,” Fröhlich told Automotive News Europe.
“Many OEMs are becoming aware of just how difficult this all is and they are approaching us so they can at least take part in the second generation”. That second generation is said to come around 2024.
According to Auto News, one of the brands that might jump on board with BMW is Volkswagen. “It could be that Volkswagen approaches us,” said Fröhlich.
It’s wise for brands to group together for this sort of technology, as it’s incredibly complicated and can potentially be very dangerous if not done properly. Also, government regulations need to advance as well, so having more brands behind this technology will only help push regulators to make decisions. If a powerhouse brand like Volkswagen, which has tons of resource and developmental might, were to join, it could be a massive help for BMW.
[Source: Automotive News Europe]
