A long-term strategic partnership has been formed between Mercedes-Benz and Google to accelerate automotive innovation and create the “next-generation digital luxury car experience”.
Through the partnership, Mercedes-Benz is set to become the first automotive OEM to build its own branded navigation experience based on new in-car data and navigation capabilities from Google Maps Platform.
This will give Mercedes-Benz access to Google’s geospatial offering which includes detailed information about places, real-time and predictive traffic information, automatic rerouting and more.
The German OEM plans to embed these features into its upcoming Mercedes-Benz Operating System (MB.OS), enabling customers to benefit from an intuitive navigation system with excellent graphics on a high-resolution screen.
To further enrich the user experience, the partners will bring the YouTube app into the Mercedes-Benz infotainment system and Google Maps data will be used to enable assisted driving features such as automatic speed adjustments before intersections, traffic circles or curves.
Starting this week, the vehicle maker provided customers – with the latest generation of MBUX and in certain markets – with access to Place Details provided by Google, enabling them to find detailed information about more than 200 million international businesses and places.
Several other planned technology collaborations include: Mercedes-Benz using Google Cloud’s AI and machine learning capabilities to create, train and deploy new models at speed and enhance customer experiences; the OEM using Google Cloud’s fast and efficient data processing platform to analyze fleet data; and Google’s open infrastructure being used by the OEM to securely innovate and scale from on-premises, to edge, to cloud, across Mercedes-Benz’s current technology landscape.
“We invite only the very best partners to enhance our operating system and to add to the Mercedes-Benz customer experience,” said Ola Källenius, chairman of the board of management of Mercedes-Benz Group. “Google has been a leader in maps and navigation for many years. With our strategic partnership, we are excited to create unique services and to elevate the level of convenience for our customers. It will be deeply integrated within our signature Mercedes-Benz user interface and fully connected to relevant vehicle functions like the state-of-charge.”
“Our partnership with Mercedes-Benz brings advanced technologies from Google Maps Platform, Cloud, and YouTube to help create new experiences for drivers,” commented Sundar Pichai, chief executive officer, Google and Alphabet. “In addition to enabling Mercedes-Benz to design a customized navigation interface, we’ll provide our AI and data capabilities to accelerate their sustainability efforts, advance autonomous driving, and create an enhanced customer experience.”