Alexa will be the foundation of BMW’s next-generation voice assistant, the two companies announced Amazon’s annual Devices and Services launch event.

BMW will not simply integrate Alexa into vehicles as it has in the past. It will build its own assistant using Amazon technology. Within the next two years, the first vehicles equipped with the new iteration of BMW’s voice assistant will be released.

In particular, BMW will utilise Alexa Custom Assistant service that Amazon launched in late 2021 to allow other companies to license Alexa. The collaboration will allow the automaker to incorporate exclusive automotive features into the voice assistant.

“This cooperation with BMW is a great example of what Alexa Custom Assistant was designed for — to make it faster and easier for companies to develop custom intelligent assistants for virtually any device, without the cost and complexity of building from the ground up,” said Dave Limp, senior VP of devices and services at Amazon.

Customers will have the choice to use either the BMW voice assistant or Alexa separately. There’s also an option to have both assistants work alongside each other

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