BMW Group And Mercedes-Benz AG’s Automated Driving Tech Development On Hold

The BMW Group and Mercedes-Benz AG announced that they are putting their partnership that works on development of next-generation technology for automated driving on hold, temporarily.

The brands announced that they reached a decision of concentrating on their own developments (including working with current and new partners) after an extensive review.

Both brands said that it isn't the right time for a partnership keeping in mind the expenses involved, and current economic and business conditions.

Both BMW and Mercedes said that the partnership could be continued at a later date, and that both the companies shared the same approach to safety and customer benefits as far as automated driving is concerned.

Both brands are leaders in the automated driving field, and have been working separately on highly automated driving projects. Both brands were unable to have discussions and meet with suppliers for technology until they signed a partnership contract last year.

Mr Klaus Frohlich, a member of the Board of Management for Development at BMW AG said, "We have systematically further developed our technology and scalable platform with partners like Intel, Mobileye, FCA and Ansys. Our current technology generation offers very strong, sustainable potential: With extremely powerful sensors and computing power, our robust modular system puts us in an excellent position to offer our customers what they need for many years."

Mr Markus Schafer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG, and the Chief Operations Officer at Mercedes-Benz Cars said, "Our expertise complements that of the BMW Group very well, as our successful collaborations have proved that next to decarbonisation, digitalization is a central strategic pillar for Mercedes-Benz. To prepare for the future challenges of a rapidly changing environment, we are currently also sounding out other possibilities with partners outside the automotive sector."

While the brands have decided to temporarily put a stop to developing automated driving technology on hold, they said that they would continue to work together in the other remaining fields.

Thoughts About BMW And Mercedes Putting Automated Driving Tech Development On Hold

Good move we think. Researching and Developing automated driving technology is expensive because brands have to develop and create artificial intelligence. As is, global economic situations are not as stable as they were to facilitate larger investments in R&D. BMW and Merc have made the right decision.