Autonomous driving: development cooperation between BMW and Mercedes on hold

W ie die Company on Friday (19.6.2020) announced that 'after an intensive examination and in the best partnership, both companies have agreed to focus on their respective existing development paths - also with the respective existing or new partners.' However, BMW and Mercedes expressly emphasize that a cooperation is still possible at a later point in time.

The reason for the end of the development cooperation is not due to the current economic situation caused by the corona pandemic, but to the complexity of the Collaboration. The effort for a common technological basis and against the background of the overall corporate and economic framework conditions is currently not the right time for a successful implementation of the cooperation.

Together, both carmakers wanted the next technology generation in the cooperation concluded in 2019 for driver assistance systems and automated driving on motorways as well as automated parking functions (each up to SAE level 4).

Ready for series production from 2024

By 2024, the company wanted to be able to offer the corresponding technology in cars for private customers However, each company should implement the results of the cooperation individually in its series products.

In partly mixed teams, over 1,200 specialists worked in the cooperation at the locations in Unterschleißheim (BMW Group Autonomous Driving Campus) and Sindelfingen ( Mercedes-Benz Technology Center (MTC) and Immendingen (the Daimler test and Technology Center) together.

Most recently, Daimler and BMW together with Aptiv, Audi, Baidu, Continental, Fiat Chrysler, HERE, Infineon, Intel and Volkswagen published a cross-industry whitepaper 'Safety First for Automated Driving'. This paper summarizes all relevant safety methods for autonomous driving according to level 3 and 4.