BMW is really digging deep into its pockets to keep up with the rapid changes in the automotive industry. The company recently revealed that it’s going to invest $240 million to build more efficient electric car batteries. The company has now said that it’s spending $118 million to build a test track for its self-driving and electric cars. The track is going to be located in the Czech Republic.
The track in the Czech Republic is going to be BMW’s first vehicle testing project in eastern Europe. The track will span 1,200 acres and it’s going to be a proving ground for the company’s autonomous cars. The development work is going to pick up steam at the start of the next decade, the company has confirmed.
The company already has testing facilities near its Munich headquarters as well as in France and in Sweden. However, they’re no longer sufficient to accommodate its expanding tests of autonomous cars.
BMW is aiming to launch its highly automated iNEXT model in 2021. It’s working with the likes of Intel, Delphi, and Mobileye to further its work on driverless cars. BMW is also planning to offer as many as 25 battery-powered vehicles by 2025. It plans on making half of them fully electric.
Filed in . Read more about Bmw and Self-Driving Cars. Source: reuters