BMW and Mercedes Benz are temporarily putting their autonomous vehicle dev partnership on “hold”
Not being able to hold discussions amongst the 2 companies and their suppliers has led to the alliance being put on hold
Car enthusiasts across the world were quite excited about BMW and Mercedes Benz working together on building autonomous car technology, but it seems that we all will have to wait a bit. It seems that two of the world’s biggest automakers have decided to ”hold” this much storied partnership, indefinitely.
In 2019, the two companies had announced that they would be working together, and as we have seen in many motor shows, both of them are getting better and better with respect to their autonomous technology.
After conducting an extensive review, the German automakers have said that they ,”have arrived at a mutual and amicable agreement to concentrate on their existing development paths – which may also include working with current or new partners”. This does suggest that it is entirely possible that they could form alliances with other automakers, but it has also been said that the 2 could very well find their way back to working together in the future, so nothing can be said for certain at this point. Furthermore, both the sides concluded, “in view of the expense involved in creating a shared technology platform, as well as current business and economic conditions, the timing is not right for successful implementation of the co-operation.”
Klaus Fröhlich, member of the Board of Management of BMW AG, responsible for Development, 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.”
Markus Schäfer, Member of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Mercedes-Benz AG; responsible for Daimler Group Research and Mercedes-Benz Cars said, “Our expertise complements that of the BMW Group very well, as our successful collaborations have proved. Next to decarbonisation, digitalization is a major 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.”
