When a senior manager in the German auto industry recently returned from Washington, he had amazing news in his luggage. The Trump government wants to cooperate with the Europeans in an area that is considered a billion dollar future field: autonomous driving. The talks, as the manager of the car supplier Bosch learned, should quickly become more concrete. A representative of the American “Bureau of Industry and Security”, in short to, was expected in Berlin, also to impart the association of the automotive industry, the VDA, as can be heard in the industry. People’s car and other companies were interested in the exchange with the US authority, whose tasks belong to “strategic technology leadership” of Americans in key industries. The appointment did not come about, and Trump’s customs club then overlaid everything else at short notice. But it remained the impression that there are definitely fields on which America wants to have the Europeans at its side. The process shows how complex the relationships in the automotive industry are. And these days they will be sorted around the world. After Trump has startled the industry with 25 percent, VW, Mercedes, BMW and Co. increases the pressure to shift more added value to the United States. At the same time, America wants to involve Europeans in a defense against China’s technological rise. Again, the focus is on the auto industry and here on the technology field “Advanced Driver Assistance Systems”, for short AdAs, as the industry calls all systems that support the driver.China pioneers of autonomous Fahrschinese company are making a rapid progress here. The People’s Republic has become a pioneer of autonomous driving in recent years. Industry observers assume that this year two thirds of the cars sold in China will be equipped with a “Level 2” system that enables the driver to take their hands off the steering wheel in certain situations. Wang Chuanfu, founder of the world’s largest electric car manufacturer BYD, said a few weeks ago that autonomous driving systems would be standard this year. BYD already offers its own system called “Eye of God” at no extra charge in cars that cost around 10,000 euros. Many of the Level 2 systems are so good that the drivers hardly be careful on China’s streets. Some manufacturers signal the vehicle on the outside by shining on the outside that the autopilot controls the vehicle. And far more powerful systems have long been in the development. The United States want to strengthen the competitive position of their own technology groups such as Google and Nvidia, after all, the world market for AdAS systems, according to market researchers, should more than double to $ 125 billion by the end of the decade-a highly lucrative business. At the same time, Washington wants to prevent cars from being rolled over American highways, collecting data and possibly even from a distance. This prohibits practically the complete import and sale of automotive technology in America, both hardware and software from China or Russia. In an assessment of specialist lawyers for the Autoverband VDA, there is talk of an “effective tech decoupling” that pushes America ahead, i.e. decoupling Chinese technology. The prime example is the Volkswagen Group, which wants to develop its complete software architecture for cars from the next generations with the start-up Rivian from California. German suppliers such as Bosch, Continental, Mahle and ZF are strongly represented in America and supply manufacturers with electronics, software and sensors. The Germans would like to talk about closer cooperation and a joint regulation for robo vehicles, especially since they too can promise considerable business opportunities. VW, Mercedes and BMW have been represented there for decades and are fighting with high investments to stabilize their position in competition with Chinese rivals. Instead of an economic “decoupling”, they prefer to speak of “Derisking” when it comes to China, i.e. the risks of dependency should decrease, but the business relationships are preserved. A meeting of business representatives with China’s President Xi Jinping on Friday in Beijing was about exactly such topics. Also there: BMW and Mercedes. If it is about future technology for the world market, the rope team is no longer quite as tight. Example BMW: The Munich people in China rely on close cooperation with Huawei. From 2026 you will equip your “new class” vehicles produced in China with the operating system of the Chinese communication giant. In the Middle Kingdom, BMW operates four large research and development centers. In the three midskin models specially developed for the People’s Republic, Huawei software will ensure networking between the smartphone and the car. In contrast, BMW does not use the Huawei software for the other five vehicles of the “new class”, which are intended for the western world and relies on a cooperation with the American Amazon group. A bit of Wolfsburg in Chinabei play Mercedes: The Stuttgarters offer automated driving functions on Level 2 ++ in the new version of their compact car. The driver can use it to be navigation-controlled without having your hands at the wheel-however, he has to keep an eye on the traffic because he keeps responsibility and must be able to intervene at any time. Mercedes works with the American technology group NVIDIA, which also delivers the chips – with one exception: Mercedes, according to a spokesman, relies on a “strong, local” partner in China, with the system, which includes eight cameras, five radar sensors and twelve ultrasonic sensors. Technology development for the Chinese market. Europe’s largest car company – like many global rivals – tries to use as much the same technology as possible around the globe in order to receive the financial advantages of the large series. But he also has different systems for a long time, for example in the software. The counterparts to Rivian in America are Chinese providers such as Horizon Robotics or Xpeng, with whom VW drives the technology development in the People’s Republic. More on the subject of further ads. Now the auto industry is facing complex negotiations. It is represented by the European Commission, but essentially they have to maintain their very own national interests. Some even see the topic as a lever to wring concessions in other fields, for example when it comes to import duties. The topic of Adas is a way “how we get into negotiations,” says a manager of a large supplier.
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