BMW AG, Intel Corp. and Israel's Mobileye NV are teaming up to develop self-driving vehicles, the latest alliance among auto makers and technology companies working to build and commercialize driverless cars.

The trio said they could have self-driving cars in production by 2021.

"Together with Intel and Mobileye, the BMW Group will develop the necessary solutions and innovative systems for highly and fully automated driving," the German car maker said.

The partnership combines the world's the best-selling luxury car maker, the world's leading chip maker, and a software provider in the evolving area of autonomous cars. Mobileye, which makes software and components that help prevent collisions, already works with General Motors Co. and Volkswagen AG.

The three companies aren't alone in the race to introduce driverless-vehicle technologies. Rivals ranging from GM and electric-car maker Tesla Motors Inc. to Alphabet Inc.'s Google also are racing to bring the systems to market.

At the same time, safety issues regarding self-driving cars have come to the fore this week with the investigation by U.S. auto-safety regulators into what is believed to be the first fatal crash involving a Tesla car that was driving itself. The incident could ratchet up scrutiny of a technology that has been evolving with little oversight. Mobileye supplies components used in Tesla's Autopilot semiautonomous-driving system.

"It's very important given this accident…that companies would be very transparent about the limitations" of autonomous driving systems, Amnon Shashua, chief technology officer of Mobileye, said at a joint press conference. "It's not enough to tell the driver to be alert but to tell the driver why," Mr. Shashua added.

BMW Chief Executive Harald Krü ger called the Florida accident "very sad," and said the technologies for autonomous cars at present are "not ready for series production."

Mr. Shashua said the partnership's planned time frame was short but sufficient.

BMW said that automated driving technologies will make travel safer.

"The goal of the collaboration is to develop future-proofed solutions that enable the drivers to not only take their hands off the steering wheel, but reach the so-called 'eyes off' level and ultimately the 'mind off' level transforming the driver's in-car time into leisure or work time," BMW said.

That level of autonomy would let the vehicle, at least technically, reach the 'driver off' stage of driving without a person inside.

"This establishes the opportunity for self-driving fleets by 2021 and lays the foundation for entirely new business models in a connected, mobile world," the German auto maker said.

Intel itself has been pushing into the auto industry to tap the growing market for semiconductors that regulate automotive functions. In May, it announced the acquisition of Russia's Itseez, which develops software and services for driver-assistance systems.

Mobileye said the partnership would employ its EyeQ5 systems and its Road Experience Management technology, or REM, to provide precise localization. Intel is contributing computing, connectivity, safety and security assets, the U.S. company said.

BMW said it plans to make its iNEXT model the foundation of its autonomous driving strategy and for fleets of fully autonomous vehicles both on highways and in cities where they could offer automated ride-sharing.

The companies have set a schedule for creating open standards-based platform to bring autonomous cars to market quickly. The platform will be made available to other car makers and industries, BMW said.

Write to Sarah Sloat at sarah.sloat@wsj.com

 

(END) Dow Jones Newswires

July 01, 2016 13:25 ET (17:25 GMT)

Copyright (c) 2016 Dow Jones & Company, Inc.
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