Munich / Stuttgart. The BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz AG are temporarily ending their collaboration on the development of next-generation technology for autonomous driving. After a careful review, the two companies have reached a mutual and amicable agreement to focus on their current development paths, which may also include collaboration with existing or new partners. Both would specifically like to point out that the collaboration could be resumed at a later date and that the underlying approach of the two organizations regarding safety and customer benefits in the field of autonomous driving is still very compatible.
The BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz AG are separately working on the current generations of highly automated driving and have recently made significant progress in this area. However, BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz AG were unable to discuss in detail and discuss with suppliers a road map for the technology until the agreement was signed last year. During these discussions – and after careful review – both parties concluded that, given the costs involved in creating a common technology platform, as well as the current economic and business conditions, the timing was not suitable for the successful implementation of the partnership.
“We have systematically developed our technology and scalable platform with partners such as Intel, Mobileye, FCA and Ansys,” he said. Klaus Fröhlich, member of the management board of BMW AG, responsible for development. “Our current technology generation offers very strong and sustainable capabilities: with extremely powerful sensors and processing capabilities, our robust modular system puts us in a great position to offer our customers what they need for years to come.”
Markus Schaefer, board member of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG; head of research at Daimler Group and COO Mercedes-Benz Cars: “Our experience complements the BMW Group very well, as our successful partnership has shown. Along with carbon emissions, digitization is an important strategic pillar for Mercedes-Benz. To prepare for the future challenges of a rapidly changing environment, we are also exploring other possibilities with partners outside the automotive sector.”
Both companies also emphasized that they will continue to work closely together in the remaining areas as planned. In 2015, the two companies joined forces with Audi AG to buy the location and technology platform HERE, which now has a very large and international shareholder composition. At the beginning of 2019, the BMW Group and Daimler AG also combined their mobility services in a joint venture that united the brands of the NOW family.
For more information:
Marco DiGregorio
Corporate communications manager
Phone +39 0251610088
Email: marco.di-gregorio@bmw.it
Media website: www.press.bmwgroup.com And http://bmw.lulop.com
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