Mercedes' parent company Daimler and Uber have signed a general agreement for the supply and operation of self-driving Mercedes vehicles on Uber's network.
Under the terms of the agreement, Daimler plans to introduce self-driving vehicles also on Uber’s global ridesharing network in the coming years, utilising Uber’s experience of running a ridesharing and delivery network across 74 countries.
With its new corporate strategy entitled CASE – which stands for “Connected”, “Autonomous”, “Shared & Services” and “Electric” – Mercedes says this agreement is the ‘next step into the future of shared and autonomous driving’.
Uber has assembled a self-driving engineering group with its Advanced Technology Group, which is testing self-driving vehicles on the road in the US. Uber’s Otto division is also working on self-driving trucks.
Each company will benefit from the other’s industry capabilities in research and development of autonomous driving and network operations.
“As the inventor of the automobile, Daimler aims to be a leader in autonomous driving – one of the most fascinating aspects of reinventing mobility”, said Dieter Zetsche, Chairman of the Board of Management of Daimler AG and Head of Mercedes-Benz Cars. “ Mobility service providers offer an ideal platform for autonomous driving technology and Uber is a leading mobility platform company. The real revolution in future mobility lies in intelligently linking the four major trends we call CASE: connectivity, autonomous driving, sharing and electric mobility. And we will certainly be the driver of these changes.”
Travis Kalanick, CEO and Co-Founder of Uber, said: “Self-driving technology holds the promise of creating cities that are safer, cleaner and more accessible. But we can’t get to that future alone. That’s why we’re opening up the Uber platform to auto manufacturers like Daimler. By combining Daimler’s and Uber’s technological strengths, more people can get access to reliable transportation at the push of a button.”