Mercedes-Benz has announced a partnership with self-driving hardware expert Luminar.
The German car manufacturer will purchase 1.5 million shares in Luminar, giving it a small equity stake of less than 1 per cent. Luminar has established itself as a leader in LiDAR technologies and Mercedes-Benz plans to use these advanced laser sensors in its future production vehicles.
“Luminar is the perfect addition to our existing roster of first-class cooperations with leading and cutting–edge tech companies,” said member of the Board of Management of Daimler and Mercedes-Benz, Markus Schäfer. “Mercedes-Benz’s achievement of SAE Level 3 already marked a huge milestone for automated driving and I am absolutely convinced that partnerships will increase our level of ambition for what is possible in future. Cooperation is an essential part of Mercedes-Benz’s strategy. Therefore, I am highly delighted to have Austin Russell and Luminar on board for our journey.”
Read Also: Luminar Strikes Deal With Volvo Subsidiary To Sell Self-Driving Systems
Luminar founder Austin Russell (left) and Markus Schäfer (right)
Mercedes-Benz has yet to announce when it will start deploying Luminar’s LiDAR systems nor which of its production models will use them. It is also unclear what level of autonomy the automaker hopes to achieve with the LiDAR but it will likely go beyond the Level 3 Drive Pilot system available with the S-Class and EQS.
“This partnership is a landmark moment in the industry, demonstrating how substantially increased safety and autonomous driving functions on consumer vehicles are going from sci-fi to mainstream,” added Luminar founder and chief executive Austin Russell. “Mercedes-Benz has always been a technological leader and first mover for the industry, with the brand synonymous with automotive innovation, safety, luxury, and quality.”
Speaking with The Verge, Russell added that the partnership will also allow it to gather data from Mercedes’ vehicles, helping to further improve its autonomous driving technologies.
