At BMW’s annual shareholders meeting, chairman of the board, Harald Krueger, announced that the company plans to release an autonomous car based on the already futuristic i8 by 2021. Deemed iNext, the vehicle will be lightweight, intelligent, and the “next generation of electro-mobility.”
The iNext is a combination of BMW’s electrified i brand and its Vision Next 100 concept that the company debuted on its 100th birthday. The new car may compete against one of Tesla’s existing vehicles, but it appears that BMW is interested in a more futuristic model.
“People often ask me, when will we be driving autonomously?” Krueger said. “My answer is: We already can.”
In 2006, a BMW test vehicle autonomously completed a lap of the Hockenheimring racetrack in Germany. Then in 2011, a self-driving BMW drove on the A9 autobahn from Munich towards Nuremberg without any driver intervention. Last year, the company took a step even closer to its autonomous ambitions with the acquisition of Nokia’s HERE mapping service.
However, drivers shouldn’t expect to see an autonomous BMW without a wheel and pedals any time soon. Krueger states that the company will always give drivers the option to operate their car manually if they choose.
Aside from autonomous cars, Krueger also noted that enhanced connectivity options and artificial intelligence-powered vehicle technologies are in the works.
Via PC Magazine and Mashable
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