BMW won’t speed up its rollout of autonomous driving technologies, even if that means letting the likes of Tesla win the race to market.
Six levels of driving automation have been defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers (SAE), ranging from momentary assistance features such as lane departure warnings (Level 0) to the full automation seen in driverless robotaxis (Level 5).
Level 2 is the highest level of automation available to the public in Australia, and most current BMW models are equipped with Level 2 autonomous driving systems that are capable of simultaneous lane keeping and adaptive cruise control under constant driver supervision.
Additionally, in some overseas markets the upmarket 7 Series can be had with optional Level 3 technology that introduces hands-off driving at speeds of up to 60km/h on motorways with structurally separated carriageways.
However, Tesla has introduced what it calls Full Self-Driving, enabling automated urban driving provided the driver remains attentive. It recently became available in Australia (in Supervised form) for $10,000 or $149 per month, and can be installed as an over-the-air (OTA) update on vehicles featuring Tesla’s HW4 software package.
Despite its broader array of capabilities, Tesla’s FSD is still considered a Level 2 system, and its use – along with Tesla’s less intelligent Autopilot system – has been linked to various crashes. Nevertheless, it’s capable of managing typical urban driving.
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BMW also wants to launch a city-ready autonomous driving system, but won’t compromise on safety to do so.
“We have an extensive group that is monitoring everybody else in the market including Tesla, so we know what they’re doing,” said Dr Falk Schubert, BMW head of customer functions, ADAS, to Australian media including CarExpert at the launch of the new iX3.
“This is a product category that we can’t ignore, and we don’t want to. But we have to go cautiously, we have to go step by step.
“Our ultimate goal in this product category that’s still missing is that we have a Level 2 ‘plus plus’ journey through the city… address to address.
“We want to be safe. Because the thing is, if you go too easy on features and then have one critical accident, that is not something that BMW wants and stands for.
“So we really mean this by safety first, not to be overly cautious, but because it’s the design principle.”
Safety is one of three key principles that guide BMW’s development of advanced driver assist systems (ADAS), alongside ‘joyful driving’ and ‘smart’.
In order to meet that criteria, the German automaker has committed to a gradual rollout of autonomous features and comprehensive testing, both simulated and in the real world.
“Safe is a very, very strong principle. You do not compromise on safety, never,” said Dr Schubert.
“There’s a rollout procedure behind it. The first step is to address driving on the highway – this is what the Highway Assistant system brings today.
“With traffic light stop and go, we will start with Germany. Legally, we have everything that we could roll it out in all countries, but we go step by step.
“We have our own KPIs, and we have our own pace to make sure that the maps are right, that we’ve seen enough special situations.
“We have a large testing fleet that also test things in these countries, and that defines the pace and the steps.”
BMW is also conscious of the impact that autonomous driving systems could have on its brand identity. Since 1965, the manufacturer has proudly used ‘Freude am Fahren’ as its global slogan, which translates to ‘sheer driving pleasure’. BMW also operates under the tagline ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’.
The disparity between autonomy and driving pleasure remains a key talking point in BMW’s transition towards producing vehicles that are able to drive themselves, and Dr Schubert says the company is still searching for a way forward.
“If you read the slogan, it doesn’t say ‘the joy of being driven’,” conceded Dr Schubert.
“But it does make sense, because we want to make the driver happy, and then you have to rethink how you market this and how that fits into the brand’s image.
“There could be cases where you went to the bar with your high-performance, premium car, and how cool would it be to be driven remotely home?
“So BMW doesn’t rule this out just because we have the joy of driving slogan, but when we define something like this it has to be smart, it has to be safe, and it has to be fitting to our brand nature.”
While BMW is open to selling Level 4 and Level 5 autonomous private vehicles, Dr Schubert believes such offerings are a long way off.
Level 4 autonomy is currently reserved for business applications, such as the use of Jaguar I-Pace driverless taxis by American autonomous driving technology company Waymo in several US cities.
The emergence of a similarly self-driving BMW requires the expansion of Level 4 technology into the private vehicle market, according to Dr Schubert.
“There’s nothing for BMW right now in the market space where we want to go. It could be interesting if you could sell it as an option for private use,” he explained.
“But technically, there is still a lightyear in between to make that financeable. So whatever you see on the robotaxis, we cannot simply make products out of this.
“We’re constantly rethinking and scouting and discussing what technically we could put in to enable this, but it also has to form a product that the customer can pay for, right? This is the reason why you don’t see anything in the Level 4 range.”
System maintenance also poses a significant challenge, as the cameras and sensors required for Level 4 autonomy demand regular cleaning, inspections, and periodic calibration.
“There is no product we could form that would be payable, maintainable and even robust enough,” expanded Dr Schubert.
“The sensors have to endure multiple years outside in the cold; you would be asked to drive to a dealer to clean them and have them serviced every few months, or even every week… forget it.
“They’re not robust enough yet, and it will probably still take quite some time.”
Even at the upper reaches of Level 2 and into Level 3, the cost of introducing advanced autonomous driving systems will continue to prohibit their inclusion in lower-end BMW models, according to Dr Schubert.
BMW charges €6000 (~A$10,000) for the Level 3 package in the 7 Series, while Tesla charges a similar amount for the Full Self-Driving (Supervised) system.
Tesla Model 3 and Model Y buyers are seemingly willing to pay that premium, but Dr Schubert is less confident that 1 Series, X1, and even iX3 ‘Neue Klasse’ customers will pay up compared to those shopping in the $200,000+ bracket.
“The iX3 is not the type of offer where you have a large amount of money for a single driver assistance package, that’s why it’s restricted right now to the 7 Series,” said Dr Schubert.
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