During a recent trip to Silicon Valley, Daimler chief executive Dieter Zetsche expressed his surprise at the progress being made by technology companies Apple and Google in their automotive projects.
Google has made its automotive venture public knowledge and is currently testing a number of autonomous cars across the United States. By comparison, Apple’s car endeavors are much more secretive and have yet to be confirmed by according to Tesla chief executive Elon Musk, are realistically an open secret after the tech giant hired leading automotive engineers.
Speaking to German publication Welt am Sonntag, Zetsche said “Our impression was that these companies can do more and know more than we had previously assumed. At the same time they have more respect for our achievements than we though.”
During his visit to Silicon Valley, Zetsche and a number of other Daimler executives are said to have met with up to 70 different companies to talk about future collaborative projects. It isn’t known what those projects could be but evidently, the German marque wants to partner with some of the world’s leading minds, perhaps to further its autonomous tech.
“There were concrete talks. I will not say anything about the content. It was not just about the fact that there is an innovative spirit in the Valley. We know that already. We wanted to see what drives it, and all the things that can be created from it,” Zetsche said.
Story references: Autonews
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