BMW’s iNext electric autonomous car to hit showrooms in 2021

BMW's iNext electric, self-driving car is set to hit the showrooms in 2021 as the brand's flagship model. The vehicle would come as an addition to the "i"  sub-brand of the automaker, which currently includes the i3 EV and i8 plug-in hybrid.

It would be able to drive itself in many situations, CEO Harald Krueger said in comments prepared for the company's annual shareholders meeting in Munich today.

He added that the sedan would feature a new interior and offer a cutting-edge electric powertrain.

The new car forms the centerpiece of BMW's effort to retain its position in the luxury-car market from challengers such as Tesla Motors.

The iNext will be "our new innovation driver, with autonomous driving, digital connectivity, intelligent lightweight design, a totally new interior and ultimately bringing the next generation of electro-mobility to the road," Krueger said, Bloomberg reported.

Additionally, BMW is pushing into mobility services as car ownership becomes less important to city-dwellers. BMW's  car-sharing service, offering the option of a chauffeur service as also people renting out their own vehicles started in Seattle last month.

BMW might lose its position at the top of the global luxury car sales this year for the first time since 2005, according to commentators.

"In 2018, we will launch a BMW i8 Roadster," Krüger said during a shareholder meeting in Munich. "This will be followed in 2021 by the BMW iNEXT, our new innovation driver, with autonomous driving, digital connectivity, intelligent lightweight design, a totally new interior and ultimately bringing the next generation of electro-mobility to the road."

Autonomous vehicle technology is not new to BMW; a BMW test vehicle, a lap of the Hockenheimring racetrack in Germany in 2006 in autonomous mode. In 2011, an autonomous BMW drove on the A9 autobahn from Munich towards Nuremberg with no driver intervention. BMW also pushed ahead with autonomous ambitions last year with the acquisition of Nokia's HERE mapping service.