BMW and Mercedes have planned to cooperate in the development of autonomous driving technology in 2019 and realize Level 4 autonomous driving on the Autobahn by 2024. However, the two companies are said to be ending such joint development plans.
According to data jointly released by the two companies, after extensive review, the two companies have reached a mutually friendly agreement to focus on existing development paths, and have temporarily suspended joint development of autonomous driving technology.
Both companies said they could not discuss in detail with experts and suppliers and review the technology roadmap until they signed a joint development contract last year. However, as a result of such a review, it was found that jointly developing an autonomous driving platform was a more difficult and costly task than initially thought.
Of course, this does not completely end the partnership, and there is a possibility of resuming joint work someday. He stressed that the basic approaches of both companies on issues such as safety and consumer interests in the autonomous driving field maintain high compatibility.
Both companies have been developing autonomous driving technology in the current generation and have already made significant progress. Nevertheless, it may have been a bit hasty to jointly develop technology that can fully autonomously drive highways by 2024.
Uber, who is developing self-driving technology in the US, predicts that it will still take time for fully autonomous driving technology to become common. In addition, Google Waymo started its autonomous taxi service in 2019, but it is not yet available to the general public, and is only provided in geofence areas classified by GPS information such as Arizona and Phoenix. In addition, the existing automobile manufacturer Ford announced that it will launch an autonomous vehicle in 2021, but at the beginning of the launch, it will be offered only in regions classified by geofence. Related information can be found here .