Daimler’s incoming chief executive Ola Kallenius says partnering with BMW on a number of technology projects “was a clear case for a win-win.”
While recently speaking with Motor Trend before he takes over from Dieter Zetsche at the head of Daimler, Kallenius was asked why Daimler decided to partner with BMW to develop autonomous driving technology and mobility services.
“In terms of mobility services, to be able to create even bigger critical mass and grow faster, we saw a strong complementary and partially overlapping portfolio within BMW. With regard to autonomous driving, you have two strong technology leaders in discussions. We see an opportunity to pool our technological resources,” Zetsche responded.
“We can do more, we can get there quicker, and we can share investments for the second generation of driving assistance systems. We will have higher volumes, getting better variable cost. There was a clear case for a win-win,” he added.
Earlier this year, Daimler and BMW announced a joint ride-hailing, parking and electric car charging business. The relationship between the two automotive giants quickly deepened and in late February, it was revealed that they would expand their alliance to share development costs for highly automated driving technologies.
According to Kallenius, working with BMW will be “ideal” for the development of autonomous technologies in the premium luxury segment. Daimler is then working with Bosch to develop its truly autonomous systems.
“Part of the driving experience will be fully autonomous. The premium luxury segment is ideal for this partnership with BMW. Then you have the robo-taxi, Level 4 and 5 [autonomy]. We are developing this with Bosch, and we’re in discussions with BMW should we want to expand the partnership. It is possible,” he said.
