BMW to launch self-driving car in 2021 with top-notch, Level 5 autonomous capabilities

The autonomous car space is getting a bit crowded these days. Not with actual cars, but continued promises from renewed and new partnerships between companies involved in the self-driving car space. Now BMW, who is quite ahead in the electric and hybrid car segment, has announced that it too is pursuing a self-driving car, but unlike the rest its car will raise autonomous driving standards up a notch, by tapping into level 5 autonomy.

Reuters reported that the German car maker is on track to ready its fully autonomous self-driving car by 2021. The company's SVP for Autonomous Driving, Elmar Frickenstein told the publication that it will deliver a car in 2021 that will work with level 3, level 4 and even level 5 autonomy.

While most outgoing vehicles are stuck at level 2 and 3, the goal for those pursuing a self-driving vehicle is currently set at level 4, one that requires some level of human input and also means that vehicle cannot drive itself in all driving conditions or scenarios.

BMW Pininfarina Gran Lusso concept

Level 5 takes things up a notch by delivering a vehicle that capable of navigating roads without any driver input whatsoever. It also means that the car will and can take decisions in any driving condition, or the equivalent of a human driver at the driving seat.

Indeed, the news does not come as a surprise as the company recently announced that it had teamed up with Israeli self-driving technology company Mobileye to collect high definition map data for self-driving cars.

Mobileye just last week was acquired by chipmaker major, Intel for $15.3 billion.