If the owners give permission, it is possible.

BMW collects data from customers with each drive, but not without their permission.

The BMW 7 Series Project Manager Christoph Fagschlunger admitted that the company has done so for three years. The collected customer data is being used to develop new vehicle features, such as driver-assist features or autonomous driving.

BMW cars can send data packets to Munich with the permission of the driver in the following situations: When the vehicle is switched off, when it’s in idle-stop or when charging (for both EVs/PHEVs).

The data is stored in the car, and then sent to BMW via a simple but secure mobile connection. The Bavarian marque pays for the data transmission and filters it according to the information.

Fagschlunger estimates that around four in five BMW owners will agree to provide data to the company for the above purposes. Automaker has already accumulated 1.2 billion km (745 million miles), of driving data, both anonymous and real-world. It plans to travel more than 2 billion kilometers (1.2 billion miles) by the end.

Fagschlunger stated that they only give permission to each customer. It shows us where active cruise is used and how it is being used.

BMW discovered that 60% of customers who have the Professional version of its navigation use active cruise control. Only 36% of these customers use steering assistance or lane-keeping functions.

“We are analysing why. It is completely different in the georegions. We have to look through the data and determine if it’s due to dense traffic or road conditions. Then that data is used to drive data-driven improvements,” Fagschlunger said.