BMW and Valeo Partner to Co-Develop Next-Generation Level 4 Automated Parking Experience

BMW is set to take on Mercedes-Benz and Tesla with its own Level 4 autonomous parking system, called “Automated Valet Parking” (AVP). The system is similar to Mercedes’ PARK PILOT and Tesla’s Smart Summon, allowing drivers to leave their vehicle at a drop-off zone, and the car will park itself, returning to the pick-up zone when the driver and passengers are ready to leave.

BMW’s AVP will be based on its pre-existing self-parking software available in the BMW iX and new infrastructure-based services, and will use a powerful computing platform hosting jointly developed algorithms.

The move comes after Mercedes-Benz made headlines at the end of 2022 with the launch of its PARK PILOT Level 4 autonomous valet parking system, limited in release to a single airport and top-of-the-line models. BMW’s AVP is expected to provide a major leap forward in the field of autonomy, bringing competition to the likes of Mercedes and Tesla.

See also: Mercedes-Benz and Bosch introduce autonomous valet parking function

Nicolai Martin, Senior Vice President of Driving Experience for BMW, said, “With scalable L4 parking experiences, we confirm and strengthen our leading position in this domain.” While BMW has not yet shared when the system will be available to customers, the company is making strides to catch up with Tesla and Mercedes in the race for autonomy. However, like its rivals, BMW may face legal hurdles in implementing the technology in Germany.

As software continues to play an increasingly important role in a vehicle’s feature set, BMW’s AVP is a step in the right direction, signaling the company’s interest in increasing competition with other leading brands in the field of autonomy. While BMW has yet to release its autonomous parking system, we can only hope that it reaches the market sooner rather than later.

See also: Bosch and APCOA to Expand Automated Valet Parking in Germany and Beyond

“We are proud of the long-term cooperation between the BMW Group and Valeo. The co-development and deployment of Automated Parking solutions will permit Level 4 driverless operation in BMW’s upcoming series production vehicles,” said Marc Vrecko, President of Valeo’s Comfort and Driving Assistance Systems Business Group. ”Building on already commercialized software stack components, this cooperation will leverage our know-how and technologies, such as advanced AI-based computer vision algorithms, and enable us to extend our portfolio to L4 functions as well as into cloud services. Other automakers will be able to join this platform, with BMW once again setting the standard for the most intuitive and pleasant user experience that its customers rightly expect.”