The firms said the partnership will lead in the near term to trials of a highly automated driving (HAD) prototype, with a fleet of vehicles undertaking extended autonomous test drives by 2017.

The fully autonomous BMW iNEXT model will be developed by 2021 and will be made available to other carmakers as well as for ride sharing.

“At the BMW Group we always strive for technological leadership. This partnership underscores our Strategy Number ONE > NEXT to shape the individual mobility of the future,” said Harald Krüger, Chairman of the Board of Management of BMW AG.

“Following our investment in high definition live map technology at HERE, the combined expertise of Intel, Mobileye and the BMW Group will deliver the next core building block to bring fully automated driving technology to the street.”