BMW’s hands-free driving tech is gaining serious traction. The brand’s Highway Assistant has now clocked over 200 million kilometres of hands-free customer use across models like the 5 Series, 7 Series, iX, X5, X6, X7 and XM.
The next evolution of the system will debut with the upcoming iX3, significantly expanding its reach in Europe from a single country to over 20. With BMW Maps navigation active, the system offers entry-to-exit motorway driving, taking over both steering and speed control at up to 130 km/h. It can even perform automated lane changes, confirmed simply by a glance.
BMW has built in multiple layers of safety. The system uses cameras and high-resolution maps for lane detection, while a driver-monitoring camera ensures the driver remains attentive. A dedicated control chip continuously checks system performance in real time.
A key highlight of the new-generation tech is BMW Symbiotic Drive. This allows the driver to intervene—whether accelerating, steering or braking—without fully disengaging the assistance system, making the experience feel more natural.
Currently available in markets like Germany, France, Italy and the Benelux region, the system will soon expand to the UK, Ireland, Spain and Portugal.
