BMW Sets Up New Center for Testing of Autonomous Vehicles

Autonomous vehicles are all the rage now and BMW is one brand that is known for its leadership in technical innovation. As part of its preparation to launch the iNext autonomous EV in 2021, BMW has set up a new test center in Munich, Germany. The center which will have 2,000 employees will be involved in research projects related to self-driving technology and vehicle connectivity.

Currently, the company’s research projects related to these two aspects are spread across several research locations. The new test facility in Munich will help streamline R&D activities and avoid duplication by pooling all these efforts in one facility. Having different teams related to these projects working in one facility will help to reduce the time gap between development of the software and hardware integration. The new facility in Munich will also serve as a location for testing the new models once working prototypes have been designed. Currently, BMW has about 600 people working on the iNext project.

BMW’s has divulged few details about what the iNext vehicle will look like. Improvements to the i3 and the i8 models are also in the works and they will be getting updates in the next few years.