Could a BMW drive you home from the pub?

BMW is working on a rival to Tesla’s Full Self Driving mode, but the company is in no rush to roll it out before it’s ready.

The German giant also says that while it has a reputation for focusing on driver engagement - its ‘Ultimate Driving Machine’ slogan dates back to the 1970s - it could also eventually offer a self-driving suite that could drive you home from the pub.

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“We have an extensive group that is monitoring, obviously, everybody else in the market, including Tesla, so we know what they're doing. We've been driving them,” he said at the iX3 international launch.

“We have our own design principles, and we don't want to get distracted easily.”

The new-generation iX3 introduces BMW’s latest advanced driver assistance system (ADAS) and that includes semi-autonomous driving in certain situations and environments, like motorways.

The iX3 is capable of an advanced version of level 2 self-driving (as defined by the Society of Automotive Engineers) which includes adaptive cruise with stop and go, lane keeping and centring, auto braking and acceleration and changing lanes without assistance from the driver.

At the moment the 7 Series is the only BMW model offered with level 3 autonomous driving. This can be engaged in certain conditions on some highways and lets the driver temporarily take their attention away from driving.

Schubert said the ultimate goal for BMW was to roll out the next iteration of self-driving tech, beyond just motorway driving.

“Well, the ultimate goal is this product category that is still missing, that we have in the city, level two plus plus journey. So this is missing, the rest we already have, right? We have level 3 in the 7 Series currently, and in this car, we have the highway system and the automatic lane changes…

“What else would you think of that you could automate there? And in the city, these two puzzle pieces… they are still missing. So this is the goal to complete those two puzzle pieces that you can turn at an intersection in the city, or that you drive through roundabouts, because then you would have a complete address-to-address journey. So these are the packages that we're still not having released here.”

Schubert rejected the suggestion that self-driving tech goes against BMW’s long-held brand image, and marketing tagline of being ‘The Ultimate Driving Machine’, adding that whatever direction the brand takes, the car will bring joy.

“That's a good point, if you read the slogan right. It doesn't say ‘joy of being driven’. So absolutely. But it does make sense, because we want to make the driver happy, you know? And then you have to rethink how you market this and how that fits into the brand's image. But we would make always a product out of it, so that you can use it and come out of the car with joy.

“And 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 that is a vision I could imagine that could form a product. 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. So you'll see product when they come up that they comply with this.”

When it comes to higher levels of autonomy, like full self-driving cars, Schubert said some BMW customers do want to be driven home by their car.

“From our customer space, we have… these customers that, they had a beer and there is strong limitations or wine, and they want to go home and they don't have any option. They need somebody to call. There's a strong push still on having private mobility. So you don't want to take an Uber. You would like to have your own car because it's well connected. You have your private space. We make these driving living rooms, you know, and you configure them with a seating as you want this.

“So I could fully understand that somebody says, 'I don't want to sit in any Uber'. I want to sit in my car, and if that could be driven by some ‘thing’, that would be great. So I totally see this happening, that there will be customers asking for an option in the very future for these kind of things, for temporarily having somebody drive their car with them in it.”