BMW to team up with Intel and Mobileye for driverless car initiative

BMW is planning to announce an initiative together with technology firms Intel and Mobileye which aims to make the German car manufacturer the pioneer in self-driving technology, according to reports.

Detection specialists Mobileye are said to have been developing technology that allows cars to have better reflexes without aid from drivers.

A news conference has been called for Friday 1st July at BMW's technology centre in Munich, Germany, with official details scarce.

The race to be the first manufacturer to produce a self-driving car is heating up significantly, with BMW seemingly moving up a gear in their own pursuit, as they combine with the world's leading chip maker and an expert in car software systems.

At the beginning of June, BMW, the world's largest luxury carmaker by sales, revealed that it would release a new flagship model with autonomous driving ability as early as 2021.

The terms of the deal are as of yet unknown, or indeed whether the partnership of Intel and Mobileye will affect in any way the latter's relationship with French-Italian chipmaker STMicroelectronics, which produces chips for their sensor systems.