BMW cars may soon pick and drop drivers at parking on its own. Here’s how

German car manufacturer BMW is developing a new technology that will soon enable its cars to find its own parking spot, pick up and drop drivers on its own and even find a charging station in case of an EV. The carmaker has tied up with Valeo, a tech company that designs innovative solutions for smart mobility, to develop this new technology. The duo will combine ADAS, car sensors and software for parking for BMW's upcoming platform called Neue Klasse. It promises to offer Level 4 automation in BMW cars in future.

The new technology, likely to be called the Automated Valet Parking, will be controlled via BMW app. The driver will be able to control the car through his fingertips. The Automated Valet Parking enable BMW cars can be left on its own at a drop-off zone in a parking lot. The car will take over from there to find its parking spot. When summoned through the app, the car can also drive back to a pick-up zone as well.

Besides these two functions, additional features will also allow the car to automatically recharge at an EV charging station if its an electric vehicle. The technology will also help the car to go for a car wash. All these features will be applicable provided the parking spot offers such automated facilities.

The app has been based on the automated parking software first launched with the BMW iX in 2021. Nicolai Martin, Senior Vice President Driving Experience at BMW, said, “This joint development is an important milestone for the BMW Group with regard to our next generation of automated driving and parking. With scalable L4 parking experiences, we confirm and strengthen our leading position in this domain."

When developed fully, the technology will be implemented in Neue Klasse, the next generation modular platform for the BMW vehicles. As of now the carmaker has not announced any timeline when the technology will be launched.