Daimler has realigned the focus of Mercedes-Benz on autonomous driving. Instead of self-driving cars, trucks are now at the top of its priority list.
The German car maker initially planned to concentrate on autonomous cars, explained Daimler CEO Ola Kallenius in a conversation with journalists at the canceled Geneva Motor Show. The group believes that self-driving trucks are initially the more attractive area, says the Daimler boss, according to the news platform news.com.au.
It is primarily about journeys between different logistics centers. Mercedes-Benz / Daimler: Level 4 truck in the test Daimler’s truck division had started testing on public roads with self-driving trucks (Level 4 technology) in the USA last autumn, and the tests were expanded in February.
This was preceded by the takeover of the US software company Torc Robotics, which specializes in autonomous driving, in March 2019. In December, the final starting signal was given for a pilot project by Mercedes-Benz and Bosch, in which a whole fleet of automated vehicles drove through the California city of San José.
Accordingly, Kallenius also made it clear that the group would continue to invest in self-driving cars. But you want to distribute your resources so that significant sales can be generated as early as possible. This may not be the case with cars.
While it is still not entirely clear with autonomous cars how the technology will be accepted by buyers and how the regulators will react, autonomous driving of trucks between clearly defined points on motorways is less likely to face fewer obstacles.
Transport companies would only benefit from the fact that truck drivers would have to take fewer breaks. Just over a year ago, Daimler announced that it wanted to put €500 million euros in Level 4 trucks.
In any case, the car maker also wants to hold onto the investments in the further development of the technology behind it – as well as the cooperation with BMW in the field of self-driving cars. PSR
Dalibor Sablic is Senior Business Development Manager-Europe
