BMW Plans Remote Parking Feature for U.S. Market

BMW AG plans to offer its Parking Assistant Plus technology on 7 Series sedans sold in the U.S. later this year, pending an exemption from the U.S. National Highway Traffic Safety Administration.

The technology, which allows drivers to exit a vehicle and command it to maneuver into a tight parking space on its own, is already is available in Europe and some other markets. Such systems currently are prohibited in the U.S. due to shift-interlock safety regulations that require the brake pedal to be depressed before a vehicle can be shifted out of “Park.”

BMW has applied for an exemption to the rule and expects to receive it soon, company officials tell Automobile. NHTSA acknowledges that the wording in FMVSS 114 is “overly vague,” according to the report, and that the BMW system will be allowed if it applies the brakes before shifting from Park into Reverse without having a driver physically depress the brake pedal.

Watch a video of the self-parking feature here.