BMW Plans Route-Guided Level 2 City Assistance in Germany in 2027

BMW plans to bring route-guided driver assistance to German city streets in 2027, extending its SAE Level 2 system to maneuvers such as turns, lane changes and roundabouts.

The functions will work with an active route in BMW Maps and assist with turns, urban lane changes and right-of-way situations. BMW’s City Assistant already supports automated stops and starts at traffic lights in Germany.

Drivers will remain responsible for driving, must monitor traffic and need to be ready to intervene. The system also checks whether the driver is attentive.

The required hardware will be standard in the new iX3 and iX4, as well as all variants of the X5, 3 Series and 7 Series. BMW plans to deliver the functions through software updates, with additional models to follow. The company has not set a German rollout date or named other markets. It plans to expand to other countries gradually after Germany; no U.S. launch has been announced.

“By extending partially automated driving functions to urban areas, we will offer our customers a real improvement in driving comfort,” said BMW board member Joachim Post, who is responsible for development.

The real-world tests required for type approval under updated UNECE Regulation No. 171, DCAS Series 2, are complete. Official confirmation remains pending and is expected in early 2027.